Knitting frustration

So I had decided to use Cotton Fleece for baby-to-be Olivia's Elizabeth Zimmermann 2 needle sweater. Seemed like a skein would be enough yarn, but I took a look around Ravelry to see what other people's experience was. This was indeed a case of "your mileage may vary". I saw amounts listed for everything from one skein to two and a half! But of course, I tempted fate. I have one skein, and I bought it at least 3 years ago, so while it's still available, the dye lot will no doubt be very different. And I got... 2 inches from the end, and ran out. Yep. Now, I have a lighter shade of green, and I could have used that from the beginning for the yoke and the border and been sure I had enough, between the 2 skeins, but did I? No, of course not. So, now I go to place an order for another skein, cross my fingers that it won't look ridiculously different, and work on my Noro scarf for myself for now...

Olympic Knitting

So I finished the Noro scarf on Sunday - exactly one week; pretty fast considering it's more than 6 feet of knitting on size 7 needles. I was pretty sick of k1p1 ribbing by the end, but the colors are so mesmerizing I ordered superbright colors for my own version. Pictures to come- my personal photographer hasn't been around in a while. The whole point of knitting it, in fact, was to get some good knitting backdrop pictures for my website. Once those are done, the scarf will go on to its new owner- the photographer's brother, in fact. It's a surprise- and I mean a real surprise; it's not a birthday or occasion of any kind. Those are the best kinds of surprises. Now, I'm once again snowbound at my mother's house (it's a lot easier to get to my job from here when it snows) and I have 2 projects with me; the baby sweater for a friend and the brighter scarf for me. And while here, I received a box of yarn from Webs for the next project- love love love it, but can't start that project here- can only look at the yarn longingly. Anyway, knitting progresses; pictures to follow eventually...

A knitter's candy store...

I took another trip "overseas" today to Brooklyn General Store for more yarn... ahhh. I love that store. You have to know what you're looking for- the awning over the door says "Frank's Department Store"- luckily I'd seen a picture of the storefront on the website so recognized it- but once you get inside, knitter heaven.

Actually, I shouldn't say that- one knitter's heaven has nothing another wants. But it's the kind of place I go into and almost hyperventilate, because I get overwhelmed with wanting EVERYTHING. Lots of beautiful yarn, Rowan, Alchemy, Noro, Morehouse, Manos, things I'd never heard of, plus buttons and felting supplies and fabrics and fabric paint- sigh. And all kinds of beautiful ribbons, and even European knitted tights (a little randomly, admitted, but I got some last time and needed to get more). When I arrived, there was a (sewing) pattern making class going on in the back- they have tons of classes and I only wish I lived close enough to make that more do-able. Then again, if I lived closer, I'd be even deeper in debt.

Don't get me wrong; no store has EVERYTHING, and this one definitely has a specific market, with certain colors and fibers predominating- it's not terribly huge so they have to be selective, and luckily for me, my taste and theirs seems to coincide. The only thing I'd change (and there's always something, isn't there?!) is that some areas are not well lit; for example, lower shelves, and since I have trouble seeing color anyway, that can be an issue. But it's a minor consideration and easily worked around.

All in all, I look forward to a trip there as though I'm five and going to the toy store, though it's definitely a test of my self control (budget? what budget?) I'm so glad Jared Flood (BrooklynTweed.net) pointed me in their direction- if you're ever in the neighborhood, definitely stop by... (and no, I'm not a paid spokesman!)

Some of the booty

Nothing gold (or purple) can stay...

Well, the gloves were received with great appreciation which of course makes it all worthwhile.

In other notes, I received some skeins of Koigu KPPPM years (and years) ago from a dear online friend. I loved it but struggled to find projects worthy of the skeins- it can be hard to think of something that will be more beautiful than some yarns are, just in the skein. I finally decided to try a pair of socks in the dark purple, but as they were planned for a man with rather large feet, I worried that the 2 skeins would be insufficient, so I searched around online and hunted down some more skeins. Now, it's true, we as knitters know colors change from dye lot to dye lot. This is a bit extreme however- you can clearly see in the photo that the 2 original skeins are dark purple, while the 2 newer ones (which aren't that new since the color appears to be out of production) are far far lighter. Okay, THAT won't work. It's okay, in the meantime I ordered some sockweight Noro to make striped socks (and some more Silk Garden to make myself a Noro striped scarf- this yarn is knitters' crack).

In the meanwhile, though, I dragged out my old knitting machine to see if it still works and used the old purple KPPPM on that- and discovered that a. the machine works; b. it can handle fingering weight yarn and c. the yarn has all kinds of breaks and hair thin spots in it- see all the tiny balls I had to wind from one skein?! I don't know if it's just that skein (fingers crossed!) or if it has anything to do with it being in storage so long (and I don't know how long it was in storage in my friend's stash before she gifted it to me) but I doubt it helped. So let me encourage you to USE those lovely eye-candy skeins and don't just let them languish in a basket looking pretty- you may not be able to get more if you need it, and sitting in the skein might not be good for it. Like the good china and the nice lingerie- USE IT, don't save it for some mythical perfect day....

The once and future Olivia

So now that I'm halfway through the Noro scarf, that means- right, time to start ANOTHER project. This time, it's a baby sweater for an upcoming Olivia due in April. Making a baby sweater is more complex than people sometimes realize.

First of all, I have learned there is no point in wasting the effort on a sweater if the baby's parents don't really appreciate hand knitted gifts- it's smarter then to just give the gift card or registry item (these parents appreciate it).

Next, except in very very rare cases there is no point in giving cashmere or other high maintenance sweaters. I find cotton or cotton blends work well for babies and kids no matter what the season- people tend to over-bundle babies, it seems to me, and with this one being born in April, a light sweater might be best.

Then, color- in this case, I know the baby to be is already overloaded with pink and purple, so I wanted something NOT pink or purple, but something that would coordinate, so I chose green. I had several options on hand, so next I chose pattern.

I had been planning to design something original, but sometimes, you have to ask yourself, why reinvent the wheel? Some patterns are perfect- and sometimes it's easier to foll

ow a tried and true recipe. One of my favorites (and knitters in general) is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Sweater on 2 Needles- I first saw and used it years ago when it appeared in Vogue Knitting; it's also in her book Knitter's Almanac, and Vogue's American Collection (I think)- it's a true classic. I've made it dozens of times in dozens of yarns and it still never bores me.

As for the yarn choice, I had originally planned to use a light green, but it was too thick for the pattern. Then I remembered I had some Cotton Fleece from Brown Sheep in holly green. I

love the hand of this yarn- nice and soft for a baby; a little wool for warmth, a lot of cotton for comfort. The bright green will look great with pinks and purples all summer and into fall- this sweater tends to fit babies almost all of their first year, depending on the baby- and I love bright colors on babies. And the funny thing? I had originally gotten the yarn for a friend to make a hat for another friend's baby Olivia- and that Olivia is now no longer a baby. So, apparently, this yarn was always destined for SOME baby Olivia....

And so it begins....

The $227 scarf

The Noro Scarf is now 25% done, and it really is the perfect mindless knitting project. I brought it with me to the doctor's office this morning and it was yet another occasion where the color changes and texture of the yarn were enough to keep me happy, but the pattern was mindless enough to continue on it no matter how I was feeling. In fact, I would be tempted to keep one constantly on my needles- it's just the kind of project people see you knitting and want one- but let's face it, each scarf is about $50 worth of yarn. Totally worth it for the luscious color and texture, but how many people do you know that you want to give a scarf to that cost $50 in materials alone, or how many people do you know that would be willing to pay the price? After all (and here's what people don't understand about why knitters don't sell their projects for a song) let's figure it out. Bear with me, there's going to be math, but there's a lot of math in knitting.

It's $50 for the yarn. Each stripe takes me 3 minutes to knit (and I'm a fast knitter). There will be about 176 stripes in the finished piece. That means it will take me about 528 minutes to knit. (Not worrying about extra time for casting on, binding off, untangling yarn, whatever- this is rough math). Or, 8.8 hours. (Actually, less time than I would have thought). Although I am a skilled worker whose work is worth far more, let's say I agree to work for minimum wage, which in NYS in 2010 is $7.25. That's $63.80 for the labor. Add to the materials cost (assuming I already own the needles, etc.) and you have $113.80. If I were to sell through a boutique, the standard markup is at LEAST 100%. Which now makes our little scarf $227.60. Minimum.

Of course, you could argue that I don't have to sell through a boutique, and I don't. But if this were going to be a business for me, I'd still have to (close to at least) double the price to cover things like advertising, labels, business phone, business credit card accounts, rent, utilities, insurance, etc. AND this doesn't take into account time spent developing the design (if I had), test knitting, etc., or paying licensing fees for using someone else's pattern.

All of which is way too much to explain to every fool who comments "Oh, why don't you make ME one of those" or offers to pay a generous fee like $10 for a scarf, which is why I usually just answer "you can't afford me" with a smile. And which is why I knit things like this scarf not just for people I care about, but for people who truly appreciate it, perhaps even more than it's worth. To paraphrase the commercials, Yarn, $50 on Mastercard. Labor, $63.80. Appreciation by recipient, priceless....

Holidays

So it's Valentine's Day, and Chinese New Year, and the Olympics (which to me is a holiday- I think schools should be closed for the duration of the games). Now that the gloves are done (think of them as a Chinese New Year gift, I guess) I'm on to the main Olympic knitting. The requirements for this is a project that is basically foolproof and dead easy, so I can't mess it up during exciting moments, but still interesting enough the I enjoy it and am pleased with the outcome (which, ideally, is completed during the closing ceremonies...). Also, it should be worked in a yarn that's pleasant to work with. Add to the equation that I'm currently rather sick with some lovely lung infection and don't want to have to think in any way- so designing and swatching is totally out. Perfect project? A striped Noro scarf swiped from (I'm sorry, as an homage to) Jared Flood, aka Brooklyn Tweed- check his out here= brooklyn tweed. See the before picture above. I have plenty more to say about brookyntweed, the yarn, the place I bought it, but I'll save it for future posts- for now, I'm going back to bed...