Monday, July 10, 2006
Last weekend while Duck and I were in western Mass., we took his mother out for a lovely al fresco dinner at a restaurant in Lenox. Afterwards we took a stroll among the quaint little boutiques and finally ducked into one of the many antique stores lining the pretty, manicured streets. The store was empty, save for the owner who was reading a magazine on the couch. As we said a polite hello upon entering, she took one look at me, fell hopelessly, madly in love, and pounced!
WHY?
 Because I was wearing Butterfly! HA HA! (And funny, it was the first time I've worn it since October. I'd forgotten about it, for shame.) She seriously couldn't keep her hands off me - or the hem of Butterfly at least, and followed me around the store while I tried to browse and not feel incredibly self-conscious and embarrassed. But oh I was flattered.
We fellow knitters know how beautiful Butterfly is, how fabulous ALL of our knitting is, but don't you find that strangers are strangly immune to all of it? So to have this person's Good Taste Radar (heh heh) go off as soon as I walked into the room...She knew immediately that I had made it, was so enamoured with it, that she asked if I would make one for her store - where she also sells a little clothing and shoes - on consignment.
"But of course, it must be in a more average size," she said, illustrating the point by grabbing her own bosomy bosom, and I was like Ha ha ha! Then, Boo hoo hoo, yes I know I don't have any of that, stop comparing!
We didn't get into specifics besides size and color (neutral only, to keep it "simple and sophisticated"), so I have no idea what she would charge if I were to make one for the store, and how much of the cut I would receive. Materials for three skeins of KSH would already be at least $35-$45 depending where I buy them, and let's not even talk about labor, or I'd have to charge about $1,000 for Butterfly. (She also talked about making "neck and wrist ruffles." English is not her native language so I was a little unclear by what she meant, but I bet she's thinking of a ruffly scarf like this, or a wrist cuff like this.)
But as everyone later reminds me, you get a certain kind of shopper in the town of Lenox...The kind that would be willing to be buy cashmere legwarmers for their dogs for those chilly nights by the lake when they go to Doggie Summer Camp. $$ Kaching kaching! $$
In any case, I'm only talking about making one Butterfly, and it would really be for the pure enjoyment of it. And it would give me a fun reason to design a label. Plus, the novelty of having your handknit be displayed in a store, for actual sale and not for show. Handmade with luuuv by domesticat! Buy me!
Addendum: Well no, I should not like to be sued by the scary Rowan lawyers for selling a copyrighted knitwear design. The thought did cross my mind, but it was trumped by the other thought that it's one tiny Butterfly, made with tiny yarn, by one tiny girl, for sale in a tiny store in a tiny town. Can evil exist in such tininess? Now that word is starting to look weird.
Filed Under: General Knitting | Butterfly
Friday, October 21, 2005
Indulge me for about 5 minutes more on this issue of the wedding dress. I decided that the red polka dotted dress isn't the way to go. Yes too red, too summery, too tea-time at the Ritz and not evening city wedding in autumn. SO. I hit the mall again with my mother and after finding nothing at the big name department stores, I came up with something pretty decent at Anthropologie. Anthro always comes through.
The woman on fitting room duty told my mom that that skirt reminds her of s3x & the city. I'm pretty sure my mom has never heard of that show, so in her mind some stranger just told her that the dress her daughter is wearing reminds her of secks. I was laughing in the fitting room.
 
Exhibit A Exhibit B
But which outfit? Exhibit A is the flouncy brown skirt with its lovely coral silk sash, with a sequined tank top. Exhibit B is the skirt without the sash, paired with - look! - Butterfly. Mom and Duck have already put their vote in, but I can't decide. I love that sash, but can't wear it with Butterfly. Also it might be too party party. Decisions decisions.
Help. Which do you prefer?
Filed Under: Life | Butterfly
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Pattern: Butterfly from Rowan 37, using 1 1/2 (or even less?) skeins of Kidsilk Haze in Pearl
Gauge: approx 18 sts = 4in on US6 needles
I have learned a few things from knitting this piece. First, Kidsilk Haze kicks ass. Second, Kidsilk Haze quickly annihilates your posture and the majority of your remaining eyesight. I worked this really slowly to avoid mistakes and having to frog. As we all know, there is just no frogging KSH. I would rather eat my own face than have to frog KSH. While working slowly and evenly, every muscle in my neck and shoulder region concentrated to keep my arms stable and not at all loose, so now I pretty much feel like I spent a 3 weeks lifting weights with my head instead of sitting on my butt. Thanks for the workout, KSH.
 
Actually, after I got through the first hem successfully and into the body, it was very quick and suprisingly easy. I had no problems with the instructions as a whole, and the pattern was easy to memorize. Usually when I work with lace patterns I inevitably make mistakes: a missed yarn-over here, a forgotten ssk there, that I would have to frog several rows to correct. Not this time though, for whatever reason. Butterfly just fluttered happily along. And THANK GOD. It was just very lucky, like we were meant to be Best Friends Forever.
Some notes:
- I went down from US8 to US6 needle size. Size 8 was just too big. The yarn-overs made hoops large enough for my cat to jump through, and the needles were just too thick for me to handle. I couldn't get it underneath any stitch.
- US7 was still too gaping and clumsy for me, so I went down to 6.
- I knitted the smallest size. Using size 6 in the smallest turned out to be a good decision. KSH stretches and stretches. The resulting bust size using US6 needles was still 32", with room to grow.
- The number of motif repeats for each hem was 11.
- I knitted Butterfly flat. In order to make seaming easier, I knitted two edge stitches on either side. This means if the row started with a YO on the first or second stitch, or ended with a YO on the last and second-to-last stitch, I ignored it and just knitted it regularly.
- At the same time, I made sure that I didn't start the pattern unless I was able to partner a YO with its corresponding decrease, and vice-versa. I kept knitting until I was able to start the pattern again "in full" - an increase with its decrease, a double increase with its double decrease, etc. This keeps the stitch count consistent, and I don't have to worry about compensating for an extra stitch on the next row.
- I replaced all "ktbl" with "ssk". Trying to force the dull needle point through two back loops was nearly impossible for me. ssk gets the job done.
- The instructions tell you to bind off at the neck edges completely, and then pick up 3 stitches for the straps. In lieu of binding off completely, I left 3 stitches live after shaping the neck on either side, and just knitted the straps from there. I made them qiute short. When satisfied with the length, I grafted it (shudder) to the live stitches on the other side.
- Speaking of grafting, let's not speak of it. Let's never speak of it. Well, we might have to. I seamed the sides using mattress stitch. Not a terrible process, considering the yarn. Backstitch might have been more appropriate but that would have required me to learn a new technique and there's no room in this old brain for that right now. So I seamed from the armhole down until I got to the hem...and that's when the grafting came in.
- To anyone who has knit Butterfly, can you tell me what those 4 rows of Stockinette stitch on either side of the hem, in the waste yarn, was all about? Like was there a good reason why you couldn't just knit one row in waste yarn? Or why you couldn't just forget about the waste yarn altogether and cast on with KSH directly? And then mattress stitch the two hems instead of grafting them? Shudder.
- For the picot edging around the neck and arms, I crocheted them rather than knit them. Because again, I didn't want to learn how to knit picot, especially when rounding 3rd base on the way to home plate. I'm nearly done and you want me to learn a new technique now? No thanks.
- I forgot about the beads. Didn't even occur to me, I was hung up on just surviving knitting with KSH. AND I HAVE!! So next time, beads all around.
- I think I might have 75% of the second skein left over!!
Updated: Oops! Just as I was dismounting from my high horse, saying that I hadn't made a mistake while knitting Butterfly, I just realized I had omitted the several rows of garter stitch along the neckline. You're supposed to work 3 rows before the picot. Does my version look less finished without the rows? Hmm...
I still have to find a better camisole to wear underneath this thing, but all in all, I am VERY HAPPY with Butterfly. Not only is it a fun knit, it is a fun and sexy ROWAN knit that cost under $20 to make. Rowan? Sexy and credit card-friendly? Can it be?
Hee hee.
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Rowan | Butterfly
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
I had all these things I wanted to talk about, and now I got nothing. Can I be boringly brief instead? OK: Vermont was lovely, good riddance to Michael Brown, and Butterfly is on the road to a glorious debut.
But first, some not-so-glorious grafting of the hems. This was so gross, people. I didn't get why we had to knit 4 rows of St. st. in waste yarn at either ends for the hem, but figured it would all make sense come grafting time. Well it didn't. All those rows of waste yarn was a pain in the ass to maneuver around, didn't help me in the grafting process, so I ended up removing them and threading one string of contrasting yarn through the loops. That made it much easier, and in the end the pattern motif aligned. F+ for technique, but A- for outcome.
Lo! That's project number 2 that I've been knitting up during weekend after weekend of mini roadtrips this past month. Why yes, it's that blasted Bolero from Debbie Bliss Simply Soft that I kept mooning about forever. I must have leafed through it in five different yarn stores before I finally sucked it up and bought it. It's still a bloody rip-off! Anyway, I'm doing this in Cashmerino Aran, rather than Chunky, and have the back and one front panel finished. The front panel ridiculously itty bitty, but half of its width is comprised of 2x2 ribbing that goes all around the circumference of the entire piece. That'll be fun when I get to it.
Filed Under: Debbie Bliss | Bolero | Butterfly
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Couple weeks ago when I was getting slammed with spam, I set up this here blog to block referrals coming from certain poker sites, casino sites, engorgement pill sites, etc. And I just now realized this site was not only blocking those, but ALL referrals. So anyone who clicked on a link here from another knitting site, aka a legitimate site, got nowhere. :( I just fixed that.
I strapped myself in front of my laptop this past long weekend to get work done (bleh), but I also managed to squeeze in some quality time with Mme. Butterfly. At this point it is breezing by. I've memorized the pattern, I'm replacing all ktbl with ssk, I'm comfy with handling KSH, all of which combined makes for a knitting experience that is much easier and much more fun than I had imagined it would be.
Second panel, approached armhole shaping
I'm not knitting in the round. I thought about it but using KSH seemed ambitious enough. Seaming this isn't going to be too bad. I made sure to knit 2 edge stitches on both sides so I'm not attempting to seam a gaping yarn-over, or whatever.
We're off tonight to Stowe Vermont for a wedding. It's too bad I won't finish this in time to wear it.
Filed Under: Butterfly
Sunday, September 04, 2005
I'm knitting when I should be working. I'm stressing about work when I should be taking it easy. I'm taking it easy when I should be driving a bus-full of refugees out of the South, bringing along with me clothes, food, water, dialysis instruments and insulin shots, and maybe even a simple book or two to read to pass the time while you sit wondering what the hell you're going to do next? What about a nice clean bathroom with working pumbling for a nice shower, can I bring a few of those down too?
Finished side of Butterfly, unblocked.
Congrats again to this Bush administration. They've shown this country that we're no more effective when it comes to responding to a disaster than we were four years ago on 9/11, and this time we even had a couple days heads up! What've you been doing these past four years?! Oh right combatting invisible WMD's in a town 6000 miles away! Thanks too for the tax cuts last year!! It's been working out brilliantly! There's no money to say, aid all those new people who have joined the growing poverty level or say, breach crumbling levees, but I sure did enjoy that extra $300 in my pocket! Now watch as I use it to fill my car with HALF a tank of gas!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
Watch Bush next declare war on the evil-doer hurricanes. Or no, he'll declare war on uh, sharks, who are just as much responsible for Katrina as Iraq was for 9/11.
Goddamn. I freakin hate that guy. I'm right now on that slippery slope of blaming him for everything. Maybe because half of America seems to let him get AWAY for everything. I have to pick up the slack. I've got a box of beignet mix from New Orleans' Cafe du Monde in the kitchen, perhaps I'll whip up a few later today. I was missing beignets and crawfish like mad the other day, now I'm missing it even more.
Filed Under: Life | Butterfly
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
The baby jacket was a hit at the baby shower this weekend. I think. I'm not sure. What I think is obviously fabulous may be out of whack with what other people think is fabulous. Someone at the shower thought it must have took me 6 months to make the jacket. Compliment, yes? I'm so insecure when it comes to giving other people handmade crafts (not that it stops me from doing it every Christmas), especially to people who don't craft. Anyway mine was the only handmade, not-from-registry item. Unique at least. But maybe they thought I was being cheap. If they only knew cost of time and materials that goes into a knitted piece, right?!
Here's the progress on Butterfly, in all its lacy glory:
Instead of knitting through the back loop (SO DIFFICULT for me with this wispy KSH), I'm doing ssk. Is that OK or am I committing some knitting faux pas. Whatever, both techniques lean to the left so it's all good in the neighborhood.
Since I'm feeling comfortable with Kidsilk Haze, I went ahead and bought a few more for Aimee from Rowan Vintage Style, in Liquer. Beautiful color.
So. I really have to cut back on knitting for awhile. As I say this I might as well cut out my spinal cord instead. No more coming home from the office to an evening knitting on the couch. I have tons of other (paying) work I'm procrastinating on. Tons! And I'm procrastinating right now! Shoot me, this is going to be murder on my willpower. Boo hoo why can't paying work involve knitting?
Filed Under: General Knitting | Butterfly
Sunday, August 21, 2005
LOOK!
It's the beginnings of a hem!
Rowan Butterfly in Pearl, using US6 needles.
I've finally conquered by battle with mohair. I'm so ecstatic I could cry! And I would except, after 8 repeats of the hem lace pattern, I'm totally exhausted. I'm knitting extremely, excrutiatingly slowly, counting each stitch out loud, re-counting each stitch again after a row, my arms and neck are stiff from being so careful.
KSH definitely takes getting used to. It's been my Achilles heel. Like with GGH Softkid, I'm having problems getting under the stitches for k2tog's, p2tog's, and oh god you can forget about me being able to p2tog tbl successfully in ten tries, much less one. But what I've been doing is using a small tapestry needle - something thin with a nice point - to help me get through those loops and loosen them up enough so I can then get my needle through them. It slows me down a lot, but it works great.
The stitches look so much better from a distance than up close. Up close the everything is a jumbled, indiscernable mess. But step back a few, and ah. Lace. So pretty.
Filed Under: Rowan | Butterfly
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