Recently I had a request to share how to do a K2tog YO on a knitting machine. In a perfect world I would have a diagram and/or photo to illustrate what I’m about to attempt to describe, but I am in the process of moving and my knitting machines are packed up.

Cast on your knitting machine the number of stitches required.

1. K2tog: With your hand tool remove the loop from the needle immediately before the K2tog and transfer it (either to the right or left) to the neighboring needle. You will now have two loops on one needle.
2. YO: Leave the needle you just transferred the stitch from, empty. When you pass your carriage across the needles, it will knit this empty needle, but will leave a hole since you removed the stitch it would normally have knit.
3. Pass your carriage across when you’ve completed the correct numbers of K2tog YO, making sure your needles have all been returned to the correct position if you’ve moved any of them out further for easy access. (When doing fishnet, I pushed every other needle out into the C position  for accessibility.)

If you do 1-3 repeatedly across the entire row you will create a fishnet effect. On a large scale I found this extremely tedious and I was able to knit this by hand faster than transferring 100+ stitches for 48 inches.

If you’re looking to do edge shaping without a YO, transfer your edge stitches to their nearest neighboring stitch and then push the empty needle into the passive position, often known as position A. This is how you can decrease stitches without leaving a lacy hole.

If you’ve read these instructions and tried it, let me know if they were clear enough or if I should include pictures and try again… when I unpack my machines. I miss having easy access to all my yarn; hoping to be settled soon.

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I realized today that I think about Black Flag Knitting all the time, but have been horrible at keeping up with the posting of images and journaling. These lapses aren’t quite what I dreamed about when I started this back during the winter holidays. I think about my site almost daily and have deep sense of guilt about the neglect of my site. Why, I’m not sure other than I’m guilt prone. I meant, the site’s inatimate and a handful of people know I’m out there, most have stopped checking because I’m not posting.

But today, I got a comment. I don’t think it’s spam this time. It’s prompted me to at least list my progress because I have been knitting, just not writing. Pictures will come. I need a better gallery plugin though, not thrilled with this one.

Completed Projects (or so close it’s good enough to post.)

1. My big success is that a sweater that I’ve been working on for about a year finally got sewn up the seams last month. The sweater is for my mother and the pattern is from Rebecca’s issue # 31. After some fittings with her which lead to the tearing out and reknitting of every piece, I am pleased to say it fits me great! I’ll find out if it fits her in about a week. I didn’t weave in any of the ends just in case I need to make more adjustments. Crossing my fingers. I’ll post an image after I know it fits her.

2. Also out of the Rebecca #31 I knit myself a sleaveless lacey crop top sweater. Good for layering.

3. Felted my very first project! The Celtic bag out of Interweave knits Fall 2007 issue. It’s so cool, even my partner likes it. The success I had with felting has prompted me to knit a whole series of bags in an attempt to seriously reduce our use of plastic and paper grocery sacks. My break through idea is to knit them all on the knitting  machine.

*note: I was making absolutely zero progress knitting the fishnet nightgown out of Sexy Little Knits on the knitting machine. So I’ve taken it off the machine and am back to the idea of knitting it by hand. It’s monotonous enough that I can watch a movie: K2tog, yo, K2tog, yo, K2tog yo . . . . to infinity, well actually 37 inches. I did get the bright idea of knitting this in the round up until the arm holes. Seemed ridiculous to knit a front adn back seperately when I can just keep going in circles and no turning my work! Whheeeee, that’s knitting excitement

4. Well, this isn’t knitting per se, but I did write my first chart this weekend. My dear friend Audrey was working on a sweet purse which a 10st repeat and decreased each row on each side. However, the pattern failed since it didn’t specify how to adjust the 10st repeat for the major decreasing on each side. So when Audrey brought me her work nothing was lining up as it should! Long story short, I created a chart in Adobe Illustrator that showed how the pattern should work on each side since she would be working only partials of the 10 stitches. It was a bit more complicated than I anticipated, but loved working through the challenge. Hopefully, next time I see Audrey she will have a cute purse with a pattern that lines up correctly!

5. And this isn’t knitting either, but I did organize my yarn stash. Maybe that’s an oxymoron, but I bought a bunch of shoe bins and ordered my yarn by color. It’s so easy to see what I have it’s sick. Just seems to go against all rules of a “stash”, but I couldn’t help myself. As soon as I was done, I thought, “ohhh, I could have done it by color and yarn weight for even higher level of organization”. Anyone else engaging in oxymoron activities like this with their yarn stash?

And In-Progress:

1. Sexy Little Knits fishnet night gown. *see note above.

2. Felted grocery sacks on the knitting machine.

3. Learning to knit socks 2 at at a time. So efficient!

4. Sweater vest. Never ending sweater vest.

5. Swashbuckler leg warmers!!! and Pattern. Trust me, the next gen looks so much better.

6. Writing a pattern for the blue hat that’s on the site.

7. I know there’s something else if I just delve into my knitting bins and notebooks.

 Plus, I may be a test knitter for a friend’s entrelac book she’s writing! More on that as it comes. I love entrelac as it give me the ridiculous excuse of indulging in knitting backwards. I taught myself on a whim a number of years ago, but it wasn’t until this past winter that I realized there was practical reason for what I thought was just kind of me going, “hmmm, I wonder if…?” when I attempted my first entrelac project: a Nori and cashmere scarf for my father.

Next time i’ll have to include a picture of my knitting mascot and dear friend, Skye. Instead of a parrot (pirates, black flag, get it?) I have a large long haired mottled grey feline. She’s lolled on her back at the moment, entreating me to rub her tummy as I write. However, when I’m knitting she likes to crawl into my lap, and lay on the yarn strand, either biting it or my needles as they tickle her ear or nose. I can cope since she keeps my lap warm in the winter is intolerably good natured and well, damn cute.

Knitting | 2 Comments »

I’ve had to put my blog writing on hold. I have goals for what I want to do with this site and I’m not achieving them as quickly as I thought. My day job has had to take precedent lately. Long hours are cyclical  when working at a magazine, plus we’re gearing up for some projects that take a lot of time and energy.

 All this to say, that when I do have free time I’m spending it knitting! (or drawing or running or hanging with my dogs and cats or having a glass of wine with friends.)

 I’ve got a few projects I’m knitting on simultaneously. The newest one is from Interweave Knits Winter 2007 issue: Celtic Tote. I’ve never knit a bag before and I’m having a great time with this one. Cables are so much fun, but I’m not a fan of wearing them, so a bag is perfect. Plus, I’m trying to have more bags for groceries to get away from plastic and this one has a place for a plastic insert on the bottom.

 I’m also working on a tunic sweater from Rebecca’s No 31 book. This one is for my mother  and I’m knitting the final sleeve. We’ve done an initial fitting of the body portion and I needed to rip it down to make the under arm around the rib cage more narrow. I’m hoping that the adjustments I made to the sleeves will fit her on the first go, but if not I’ll just rip back.

 And of course, I’m still working on my leg warmers. They are on hold though since they’ve been a bit of a brain buster and I’ve wanted to just knit.

Tonight I took the time to indulge in knitting to the Academy Awards. (I love theater and movies.) So thrilled Diablo Cody was recognized for Juno and loved her choice to represent herself just as she is: arm tattoo bared, skull and cross-bone earrings, black asymmetrical haircut, leopard print dress, and black nail polish. I wonder if she knits? Also, glad to see the art direction for Sweeny Todd recognized.

I think the coolest moment of the night was when host John Stewart called back out the winner for best song who had not gotten a chance to say thank you. She was an independent musician who clearly was moved to be recognized and had a gracious word to share. That John Stewart thought to bring her back out to speak was a true moment in an evening of scripted teleprompting.

Until my next free moment…

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aka the Frou-Frou Problem

I’ve been making significant progress on the Swashbuckler Leg Warmers. Actually, make that leg warmer. So far only one has been knitted and I finally like the fold-over top (not pictured) which is key to the Swashbuckler feel.

My first attempt at  the top was too frou-frou (pictured below). Too fluffy and girly. It could be heightened by the fact I am knitting in bubble gum pink. Maybe it wouldn’t have seemed as girly-girl if I had knitted a sample in brown.

[Left: First take buttoned-up using my skull buttons. You can see the frou-frou frills on top fold-over. On right you can see it opened with the elastic pocket–the real key to keep the leg warmers from slipping down.]

My decision to use pink was based on two things. One: I wanted to easily see and count my stitches and compare them against my notes. Two: I like the idea of knitting these leg warmers in a color you wouldn’t expect.

I’m basing the design off of those over-the-top boots worn in the sixteenth century by those loud sword carrying flamboyent swordsmen. It’s certainly the romanticized version seen in movies with the likes of Errol Flynn … but in pink! I thought it seemed like an interesting challenge. After I finalize the pattern I will make it in a rich chocolate brown organic cotton I recently snagged.

I will vehemently write that I do not like the frilly nature at all. The pink and ruffles upsets the careful balance of kick-ass-leather boot vs. woolly accessory to keep my legs warm. So, I ripped it out, redesigned the fold-over, reknitted, and kept immaculate notes on each row. Pictures to come very very soon of the new look.

Next step: See if I can knit a matching second using my pattern notes. That’s the real goal; can I actually write a functioning pattern.

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I’m making some significant progress on my attempt to write a knitting pattern for some leg warmers with a high seas flare I’ve designed. I’ve scribbled tons of notes and made several attempts at coherent pattern. I tend to be an intuitive knitter, so writing down my exact process is unnatural.

I’ve been persistent and knitted one leg warmer a few times trying to get the the pattern and shaping just right. It fits fabulously, but the ends need to be sewn in and buttons attached, then we’ll really see. What’s done is fairly promising though. Pictures to come soon.

I’ve been asked for my hat pattern seen in the previous post, but it’s not written down either. I have plans to document it, so hopefully when I’ve gotten the leg warmers complete I’ll tackle that one. It should be significantly easier.

Knitting | 1 Comment »

It’s New Years Day 2008 and I’m ready for a fresh start.

I’m always energized for a new year as I get pretty run down feeling as the year wears on.

I’m trying something new to me and actually writing a pattern before jumping into the knitting. I often knit from my own designs which have most often started from an established pattern that I’ve modified to my desires. A couple months ago I knit a hat based on a non-knitted one I purchased at a fabulous hat shop on Granville Island, BC. I didn’t write down the pattern (or I’m ashamed to say, knit a guage swatch); I just worked intuitively. Needless to say I did A LOT of frogging, but ended up with a cute hat. I intended to write the pattern after I completed the project, but a few months have passed and it’s still not written down.

[Blue Sky Alpaca chunky weight yarn in a powder blue.]

So, I’m trying something new and writing the pattern ahead of time for a new knitting project I’ve designed based around these super fun buttons I found.

[Handmade skull buttons from NW Handspun in Bellingham, WA. Designer unknown.]

I’m calling it Swashbuckler Leg Warmers. For those of you have written patterns before, you know what I mean when I write, it’s one gigantic word problem. Word problems were never my strength in math class, but my left brain is attacking it relentlessly while my right brain taunts it with thoughts of just getting stitches on the needles and going for it. “Who needs a pattern?!”, it says.

Currently, I have 4 pages of scribbles, sketches, math problems, and several attempts at writing something understandable based on the afore-mentioned scribbles, sketches, and math problems. You would think leg warmers wouldn’t be that complex; however, I’ve decided to do a bit of calf shaping and at the same time create a series of buttonholes. Instead of knitting in the round on dpn’s, these will be knitted flat (from the bottom up) and then buttoned closed. I’m making good progress and hope to cast-on in a couple hours.

Apparently my left brain is having a blast because as I was falling asleep last night, I considered taking the same design and knitting it lengthwise. This would mean that the calf shaping would done with short rows which could look interesting. I’ll finish my initial idea first though.

When my brain needs a break, I just head over to the knitting machine where my mesh nightgown is in progress and I do a few rows there. You can see pictures in the Knitting Gallery.

Happy New Year and I hope you are motivated to tackle some projects in 2008 that expand your abilities and task your current knitting level. Cheers!

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For Christmas my husband got me my very own website to write down my musings on knitting. . . mostly.

So here’s my first attempt at blogging. . .

Members of my extended family joined us for the holidays this week. My mother-in-law in her past life was a professional knitter and being around her is what prompted me to experiment with fiber and pointy sticks 10 years ago. Her visit this holiday introduced me to two new things: a word and a machine.

Apparently all that ripping out I’m so fond of has a name. Frogging! … rip it, rip it, rip it. Here’s an article on Knitty by Theresa Vinson Stenersen about better ways to rip out your hours of well spent knitting. [article on frogging]

[Jess and Nancy setting up the machine (left) closeup of the carriage (right).]

The new machine in my life is actually two classic knitting machines from the 1980’s (a Bond and Brother/Studio Model 328 pictured above) that my mother-in-law used to use. They are in fabulous working order. She and I had a fabulous time together setting one up and for her, getting reacquainted. I have been so excited about the expansion to my repertoire that I was dreaming about how to do a K2tog YO with the machine. This morning I figured out how to do it manually and was thrilled to see a piece of fabric resembling fishnet. This is really going to speed up the task of knitting about 4ft. of a mesh long nightgown found in the book, Sexy Little Knits by Ashley Paige. That’s one experience I don’t need to have by hand.

As a few guys I know have said when I showed them this book, “Finally, a good excuse for my wife’s/girlfriend’s obsessive knitting!” While I disagree that this book and others like it serve to validate our obsession with knitting, I do appreciate their enthusiasm. . . with a smirk.

Back to figuring out the tension on the machine. I’ll post progress on this project and others.

Knitting | 2 Comments »