Perfect Knitting?

 

Christopher's Prescott Vest

Last week at breakfast, Grace brought up an interesting topic, and it's a conversation that I've had with more than a few of my Ravelry friends as well.   Here's how it goes:  You see a knitted item (could be a sweater, a shawl, socks, a toy, but we'll use sweater in this example)  You really, really want to make that item.  You look at the materials list.  The yarn for that amazing sweater is going to cost you $200+ !! That's eight hanks of hand dyed sock yarn!!!  (hand dyed sock yarn is my personal weakness... fortunately my favorite weight of yarn to knit with, but really since my catphew lives almost 2 hours away, I pet my sock yarn instead) That's a lot of money for yarn for just one project.  Sometimes it can be justified, a knitter I know knit a full length swirly duster coat from Dream in Color's Starry in winter white with clear, silver lined white and pearl white beads, to wear over her wedding dress (it was a Vermont winter month wedding) Or what I think about - how often will I wear/use this?  If it's a cardigan I'll wear 4 times a week all  winter and it's style is classic enough I know I'll wear it for a lot of winters the cost per wear goes down.  ( I justify  a lot of things via cost per use) 

My Moustache Cowl

Realistically though, what a lot of knitters do, because we aren't independently wealthy and have developed a habit of eating occasionally, and we like not living in a tent (where would you keep your yarn if you lived in a tent???) is we look at other more economically priced yarns.  Now, unless you want to do a shit ton of maths (I love math, but not in terms of converting an entire pattern) the most important thing to look at in a substitute yarn is the gauge.  You want a yarn that knits up at the same number of stitches per inch.  You can finagle this a little bit by changing up your needle size - but if you stray too far one way or the other you will totally change the fabric, making it too loose or too tight.  

The trouble with just looking at the yarn gauge, is there are a lot of other factors.  The twist of the plies, the sheen, the halo, the type of fiber - all these affect how the finished project comes out.  There is also how you knit.  Some people knit so evenly the stitches could be machine made.  Some people knit a little lumpier.  My stockinette stitch has a texture  to it because when I taught myself to knit, my yarn gets wrapped under the needle when I purl instead of over it. It took me a long number of years to figure out WHY my purls twisted, and then I decided I liked the more textured stockinette anyway.  And finishing techniques.  You can be sure the finishers that work for Vogue are perfect at the seams they make, never a buckle or a gap anywhere.  ( I personally despise seaming... ok hate weaving in ends more, but ugh) 

Blocking skills also come into play.  Not just how well you block, but what type of blocking you use.  There's wet blocking, steam locking, mist blocking - all affect the yarn finish look.  Different yarns and stitch patterns respond differently to the different types of blocking, yet the magazines never seem to mention how it was blocked.

So with all this - is it any wonder that our projects don't look exactly like the picture in the magazine??  (not even touching on lighting, computer editing of the photos after they are shot etc)

These discrepancies normally don't bother me.  I rarely want exactly what's in the picture, I usually have a different yarn in mind,  I hate haloed yarn - it just seems too fuzzy.  Even then, I don't always end up with the picture that was in my mind.  I think that's why it's easier to cast on a bunch of projects than finish them.  When you cast on - perfect is still possible, finishing is admitting it isn't perfect.   I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to knitting.  I'm a I'm happy with it, if I'm not- I'll give it away.  I think this is why some knitters also are afraid to try new techniques.  A knitter I work with will do phenomenal lace work, has never knit a single cable - because it looks hard!!!!!!   It took a really good friend of mine (yes you!) a really really long time to try DPNs.  Now she makes a ton of toys.

My only suggestion??? Knit what makes you happy, be happy with what you knit.  Don't try to duplicate another project - if the person who knit it made two they probably wouldn't be identical either.  And as much as I hate to admit it - when in doubt swatch.  One of the best things I gained from NerdWars is that you had to submit a swatch with your dissertation proposals.  While I am convinced swatches lie - especially about gauge, if you swatch and block you can get a better feel for how the final fabric will turn out.  Do I do this?  Mostly NO.  But, these things don't bother me, I'm just trying to understand why others get so bothered.  

My two pictures above show a successful and a not so successful substitution.  I knit Christopher's vest in Knit Picks Brava, don't trust his mom with anything not seriously machine washable.  Here's the pattern picture. I actually like how my yarn choice shows off the stitches better.  (granted both yarns from same manufacturer and approximately the same price)

My moustache cowl was a different story.  I used Cascade 220 fingering.  it's the first time I used this yarn in a fingering weight.  Cascade 220 is a workhorse yarn , great color selection, blocks well, felts well (if you don't accidentally get the superwash)  I've made a lot of projects with it - and loved it.  So I felt very confident when I decided to substitute the 220 fingering for my cowl.  I hated working with this yarn!!  SO much that I haven't worn the cowl! I even did a small swatch since learning double knitting was my dissertation theme last spring.  The brown yarn seemed thinner and more twisted than the cream yarn, so there were tiny gaps- that didn't block out. I may try reblocking it now that I have a steamer to see if that helps.  Here's the pattern picture - much smoother, even taller..

   

Review- The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging.

This book was the first of the three I requested from my library to arrive.  I really wasn't that thrilled with it.  If you have a concept for a blog with a single focus, it would probably be an awesome book, but my blog is more like a blog magazine with different weekly sections than a focused on one thing blog book.

The book is split into three parts.  The first part is the "How-to" part of the book.  How to start a blog, how to find a server to host your blog on, why the ability to immediately react to something going on in the world or your life is advantageous, how to write in a more conversational mode rather than a more edited "newspaper" mode. These chapters were helpful. Then the section goes on to how to narrow down the focus of the blog, how to be seen as an expert at something within the blogosphere, how to expand your readership, get more followers, get more links back to your blog, getting other bloggers to link to your site and/or guest blog on your site, how to get up higher on the search engines results page.  These sections were not that helpful, because becoming an internet expert on something or having thousands of followers isn't really my personal goal in blogging, if it is yours read these sections.  The last chapter of this part is about building a community. I kind of already know who mine will be.  Mostly either A. People I know.  B. People I "know" online from Ravelry or Twitter. C. People who the last two groups know and are linked over here for a post or as a suggestion to read. D. People who accidentally stumble on here and either leave or stay.  ( I do actually have some good virtual friends  - and their pets because of interactions when I first started blogging) The part I found helpful here was using the comments sections to have conversations - by replying to comments (which I rarely did before) and actual conversation can occur and be joined by whoever else reads the posts and comments.

The second part is called "The Blog Revolution is Here!! Be a Part of It.  This is basically an excuse for the writers and founders of The Huffington Post to give themselves huge kudos and pats on the back, and kiss Arianna Huffington's  well connected ass. I'm not taking away the fact that the HuffPost did revolutionize the way a lot of people, myself included keep up with current events, form opinions and learn about breaking news.  They did totally, in my opinion force mainstream media to create more useful web presences as well.  However the syrupy nauseating, blatant "Yay us!" tone in this section was a real turn off.  If you are looking for lessons in ass-kissing for whatever reason, (well if you are the type of person who is - you probably aren't the kind of person reading my blog) this is the section to read.  With some Bush hating thrown in ( although this I pretty much expected from anything written by the HuffPost- I've learned to take that with a huge chunk of salt) and some celebrity guest comments.

The final part is the resource section.  The Huffington Post's blogroll- granted the book came out 6 years ago - but you've either heard of these blogs and follow or look at them or you don't, maybe 6 years ago they were good suggestions.  A glossary of blogging terms - if you are going to blog, you probably have a computer and can Google these terms if need be faster than flipping to a glossary which is 2 pages long 45 pages from the actual end of the book.  A Website Resource list - also somewhat outdated (MySpace anyone?) And the "Best of" several of what they consider the best posts from their site. 

I think I actually read the whole book so I could list it as finished on Goodreads and count it toward my 2015 Reading challenge. 

Fitness Trackers and Apps

I'm looking at a few different fitness app and trackers.  I'm also looking at a couple pain tracker apps.  I keep saying I'm going to track my headaches, and migraines but never actually do.  The magic of me and my phone is I'll actually use apps on my phone. I have a list of 20 different apps I'm checking out, so it will be awhile before I've drawn any conclusions about them.  Quick note: when I wrote about the water app last week I got the name wrong. It's actually WATER YOUR BODY.  Really sorry about that.

Right now I'm shopping for a wearable tracker.  There are phone apps that will track some of the data I'm interested in - but most are for iPhone, and I'm never leaving Android, and most kill the battery pretty quickly (since battery life was a HUGE deciding factor when I got my phone - I can't live with having to recharge halfway through your day- this is also a consideration for apps as well)   There are a LOT of wearables on the market.  I didn't look at iOS only products, I also didn't look at products that weren't reviewed in what I consider "reputable review sites". The top three for me when I'm in the market for electronic devices are: PCMag.com (ironic since in computers I'm definitely a MAC girl) CNET.com and Wired.  There were a few devices that the only reviews I found were on Amazon, and other retailers, and I don't necessarily trust those reviews, so I eliminated them from the lineup.

Process Vs Product

It's kind of weird when thoughts from two, seemingly unrelated  parts of your life are basically the same and parallel.  It makes me ponder.  If you read my post title and you're one of the people I just finished taking my class with ( I actually know 4 in real life!!!) or one of the people I've been talking about my class with- you will jump to Perfectionism causing Procrastination.  If you're one of my knitting friends, you will think of the division of types of knitters.  This also ties in to a conversation I had over breakfast last week with my friend Grace ( you can check out her blog "Knit On" on my sidebar) about knitting patterns, yarns and finished products.

Friday Foodie - French Onion Soup

The other day I mentioned that I was going to make French Onion Soup because it was my husband's favorite soup.  The people I was talking to acted like I was going to try to make a 5 star gourmet 7 course French meal!  Realistically speaking - other than needing to be home for an hour to stir the onions occasionally - it's probably one of the easier things I make.  I actually saw on TV the other day (watching the Kitchen - love Geoffrey Zakarian) how to caramelize onions in a slow cooker.  I am going to try an experiment and caramelize the onions overnite in the slow cooker and then add the rest of the ingredients and cook the soup all day... but that is another time.  This soup was an experiment in cooking less.  I am still having issues trying to cook 2 people's worth of food - even though it's been almost 5 years since the Angie went away to school!




One large sweet onion (this one is from Chile - but if you can get Vidalia or Walla Walla go for them! ) I think the sweet onions caramelize better.



I slice mine on a mandolin - it's easier to get nice thin slices that way.  I also slice 2 cloves of garlic.



I then take out my enameled cast iron pan.  If you don't have one ( I think the red ones work better.. not a scientific opinion however)  a heavy bottomed pan is important or you will have to stir more often to prevent your onionsfrom burning.  I melt about 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, when the butter is melted, add the onions, garlic, a bay leaf( I used three - but I really need a new bottle of them) , about half a palm full of thyme (if you have fresh probably one or two sprigs will work, some salt and pepper,  and a half palm full of Herbs de Provence (if you don't like this leave it out - I love the stuff - but only a few brands of it)    

  

Keeping the flame super low, stir maybe every ten minutes for  about an hour.  Your onions will begin to caramelize.



Now wine.  I usually use red, I have used white, I've also used beer.  They say only use a wine you would drink... problem is I don't drink wine.  I like the little "single serve" bottles of wine to cook with because I don't have to worry about the rest of the wine going bad on me.  (When I use Guinness or ale I don't have that problem :) )  A friend of mine who doesn't drink or eat an alcohol says he uses 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of stock to deglaze with - so you can try that if you'd like.  Once the onions have caramelized and when you stir you leave "spoon tracks" on the bottom of the pan (you will also have some browning on the bottom of the pan - this is good) add you wine, bring up to a boil and then lower the heat again. Continue to occasionally stir on a very low heat until the onions are pretty much the same consistency as they were before.



Now add just over a tablespoon of flour and stir to cook out the flour taste -  about 10 minutes stirring every couple of minutes.



 Add one box of unsalted beef stock and 3/4 to 1 cup of water depending on your stock.  Raise the heat to bring the soup to a slow simmer, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.

Now the toast and cheese part.  It's fun to toast some french bread, put slices in the bowl of soup, cover with cheese and put under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is hot and bubbly and starting to brown.  Or you can do what I did  ( a trick I saw on a cooking show a long time ago - I don't remember whose show so I can't give credit where due)  I also couldn't get a whole wheat baguette, so I used whole wheat Portuguese rolls instead. Sliced them, put them on a foil covered baking sheet. I toasted them for a few minutes and then turned them over.  I covered each with a slice of gruyere and a slice of swiss and put them under the broiler until they got all bubbly and started to brown.





Then I put these in the bowl and let them absorb some soup before I served them.

Only 12 ingredients - if you count the bread and cheese. Total time is about 2 hours - but I was doing other things for those 2 hours just remembering to go stir every ten minutes or so.  The hardest part is not burning the cheese on the bread. 

I do wonder if Curt thinks I have ulterior motives when I make this though....

Thursday Twists

I've finished 2 knitting projects this week.  The first is a pair of fingerless mitts - that have a built in hidden pocket on the left hand.  It would be great for a bus pass if you take public transport, or a drivers license and credit card - I took my picture with my Starbucks card.. because really that's most likely for me!  The mitts were a mystery knit a long on Ravelry - it was done a bit different than most that I've done.  After you post a picture of your yarn - you got the first clue, then after you post each progressive clue the next day you get the next one.  If you didn't reach a certain point by Jan 15th - the designer assumed you weren't on pace to finish and dropped you from the clue list.   That would have totally pissed me off. Especially since in my life,  the month isn't always a smooth flow of days and there are weeks I can get a lot done - and other weeks not so much.  As much as I love these mitts - I don't think I'm doing any more of her knit a longs.  (for reference - most of the MKALs I've done the clues were released on a certain schedule - whether or not you were caught up)
 

 

I may make them again - with just 2 strands of yarn instead of 4 ( they are a bit bulkier than I personally like)  With the white and a variegated; or black with a variegated.  Most of my fingering/sock weight yarn is variegated, the gloves ended up being the only 4 solids I had that worked together!

The second project I finished is an infinity scarf.... in the NJDevils colors.  I finished and wore it yesterday, the Devils won a game in OT (this year - if a game went to the shoot out it was pretty much over for them - so this was a change)  I do not believe this was a coincidence.. I give the scarf some of the credit! 

This yarn gave me all sorts of fits.. normally I LOVE single ply yarn - but after trying 3 other patterns ( I may get a different yarn and try the brioche stitch cowl I started with  - love the pattern - it was too stiff and too tall with this yarn) I finally settled on an old classic stitch pattern, twisted it and kitchenered it.  ( I had my doubts about the way the designer joined the two ends - but it really worked out well! )