Dremel Guy Strikes Again~

I rather enjoy knitting with beads, although it does slow me down, mostly because of the small number of beads that will fit onto a normal crochet hook. Cheeto here, will demonstrate.

First, you whisk the hook around in the little bead pot. If you're lucky, you'll snag four beads.

After placing these little guys onto your lovely knitted object, you do some more fishing....

And once more..................

And again.......................................

After the eleventy-millionth fishing expedition of the day, I stared at the crochet hook for a few minutes. ....gotta be a way...mumble mumble...., of course!  fleegle yells for...............

Dremel Guy!

Dremel Guy flashed into the room wearing his Formal Socks, a Cape of Invincibility (tm), a Really Old T-shirt, and, of course, his hand-held Miracle Machine! After whisking my hook away, he returned an hour later with this:

Both Cheeto and I were thrilled with the result....

The hook's not much good for crocheting anymore, but the last time I used a size 13 crochet hook to actually crochet was, um, let's see.........scribble........scratch........scribble..........never gonna tell them that number.....Suffice it to say, a long time ago. And I have a spare just in case I take up doilies again. Heh.

The Amazing (and Cheap) Spinning Notion--Zia!

I don't often write about tools, because there's really not much new under the sun. Let's face it, a knitting needle is a knitting needle, and everyone has an opinion about composition, pointiness, and configuration. But they are still knitting needles, you know?

However, no spindle spinner should be without a Zia. And wheel spinners might find her handy, as well. Let's take a little tour.

First of all, Zia holds your spinning projects. The units are stackable, and come in a variety of colors. I like the clear ones so I can easily see what's inside. If you don't want your project open to the air, just place everything in a plastic bag before dropping it into Zia. She's got a handle so you can tote her around.




You can use a Zia to hold your spindles, too--just turn it on its side. Put a piece of foam down on the bottom if you like. The foam will prevent your spindles from slipping through the bottom holes. I don't have any foam in this picture, but you get the idea.

You easily can store your copps in Zia. Mine are mounted on clear soda straws. And of course, you can use Zia for plying. Notice that in this picture, I ran straight knitting needles through a few straws (the only use I have for my Mother's Bernat straight needles). The silver handle is on the top side...



...If you flip the handle to the other side, it keeps the needles from sliding and also adds a bit of tension. If you need more tension, make sure the handle is on top of both the straw and the needle. You can slip a bit of eraser or non-slip pads through the points and snug them up to Zia's side to eliminate any unwanted slippage.

Best of all, Zia is not expensive!

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I bought mine at the Container Store, but they are also available on-line from Ace Hardware. Amazon, Organize, and many other suppliers. The one in the picture is the smallest size.  Go shopping!

It's In The Bag

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Japanese is their endearing ability to make something out of nothing. Well, almost nothing. What other culture could have invented the Corn Flake Sundae (corn flakes, whipped cream, maraschino cherry); karaoke (microphone, tin ear); and the subject of today's post: the furoshiki (square cloth)?

Furoshiki literally means bath (furo) spread (shiki). The term was coined in the Edo period (1615-1868) when public baths became popular. Patrons arrived at the bath house with a change of clothes and other essentials, tidily wrapped in a furoshiki. The cloth was then spread on the floor, giving the bather a personal space on which to change clothes.

More recently, furoshiki have evolved into a package-wrapping art form. The concept and execution are quintessentially Japanese--space-efficient, ecologically sound, totally practical, and exquisitely elegant.

I purchased several instruction manuals on my last trip, and I especially recommend this one. For some inscrutable reason, the directions are in both Japanese and English, and the wrap jobs are just exquisite.





Although these wrappings look complicated, they are actually easy to do, requiring only the ability to make a square knot. And frankly, a granny knot seems to work just as well, although the ties might not look quite symmetrical.

Today's post will show you how to make two quick knitting bags and the most sought-after container in the galaxy: a watermelon holder. You know you need one. Go ahead, snicker. But the next time you go to the market and wrestle with an awkward, slippery, round, heavy watermelon, you'll remember I Told You So.

All you need for this lesson is a square cloth. Obviously, the larger the cloth, the more it can hold.

Let's start with the watermelon holder, which, by the way, can actually hold knitting, a bowling ball, or some frolicking chipmunks.

Place your watermelon (or pile of chipmunks) towards the back of the furoshiki.


Tie the two back corners together with a square knot. Notice the hole behind the knot. You will be using this in a minute.







Pull the front two corners through the hole.


Lift them up...



...Twist them...


...And tie them together with another square knot.


You're done!

Here's a slightly more complicated bag.

Start by tying an overhand knot in each corner of the furoshiki.



Tie two of the knotted corners together. And then tie the other two knotted corners together.


You're done!


If you want to, you can pass one handle through the other, like this:


Finally, I'll show you how to make a bag with real handles. In this case, I used a set of plastic circles. You can buy these on eBay or get them from a shop like SpinBlessing.


Pull two corners front to back through one handle.


Bring the corners around to the front and tie them in a knot.


Do the same with the other two corners.



You're done! Here's what the open bag looks like:


I love these bags for two reasons: first, when not in use, they occupy little space, and second, you can tailor the size of the bag to its contents. And, of course, when people admire your knitting bag, you can tell them you make it in under two minutes.

The Doctors Are In!

I am a confirmed lifeline addict (read about them here if you don't know about lifelines). Without lifelines for my fine lace knitting, I am forever dropping stitches, leading to hours of tinking, cursing, screaming, and other behavior unbecoming to a supposed Knitting Expert. Fortunately, all my interchangeable needles come equipped with a perforation, because these types of needles are tightened by sticking a little pin thingy into the hole and twisting with the little rubber whatsis.* Alas, none of my fixed circulars are so equipped.

I had taken a wad of them to our gunsmith so he could remedy this depressing state of affairs, but he has became quite ill and can no longer fulfill my peculiar requests.

My regular readers know what's coming, right? House of Fleegle decided to indulge in some do-it-yourself Knitting Needle Surgery. All we needed was a mini drill press and plenty of micro drill bits, both available cheaply on good old eBay.

Let's take a brief tour of the procedure!

First, let me introduce the surgeon:


And his multi-talented First Assistant:


Before we started the process, the First Assistant set up the operating room:


And there's the Second Assistant, Cheeto, holding an entirely unnecessary micro-saw. We'll need that for another procedure though, so it's nice to see him practicing his surgical room instrument clutching.

On to the process.

We first anesthetized the patients by dunking them in our priceless bottle of North Korean Famous Brandy.


Nice label! The cap is cheerfully designed too:


Ah, Lori, you are correct. Possession of this bottle is most probably entirely illegal, but honestly, we bought it at the DMZ years ago and perhaps the Statute of Limitations has run out on it. It's great anesthetic--the patients remained unconscious through the entire procedure and woke up without drug hangovers. By the way, the brandy is clear, not, ah, brandy-colored. We never actually tasted it.

And here is the surgeon performing the delicate operation:


The patients recuperated rapidly and appreciated Cheeto's little winter bouquet.


Delicate stomachs might want to close this browser window now. A close-up of the perforation is shown here on Patient Size 1:

All in all, the operations were successful, but we broke a lot of drill bits on the metal needles. Our next procedure will feature transplant surgery, so be sure to come back if you aren't squeamish!

*Kyoko-san, "whatsis" is a synonym for "thingy." Or "thingie." I cannot construct a legal plural for "whatsis," although "whatsises" or "whatses" might work.

Yarnival, December 15, 2007

Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope the next few weeks bring you delicious food, presents filled with knitterly happiness, and the stamina to face yet another year of casting on, frogging, and staring hopelessly at Internet pages crammed full of expensive yarn.

Some Yarnivals have themes, but I couldn't come up with brilliant, cohesive topic. Consequently, this Yarnival is basically a little bag of stocking stuffers. I had a wonderful time compiling these entries, and I do hope you have an equally entertaining time reading them.

Tooling Along

I read this incredible story a few months ago, and still can’t believe that anyone could be so driven to produce the perfect, complete, set of Hybrid Mutant Ninja Interchangeable Knitting Needles. I am profoundly envious--my father was a man of many talents, but he had trouble differentiating one end of a screwdriver from the other.

Most of us cherish Colourmart with their mouth-watering range of inexpensive cashmere, but the cones of yarn can be awkward to work with. Z’s Momma solves this problem by inventing an inexpensive cone holder and posted instructions on how to make one for about eight bucks.

Like many knitters, I tend to scratch directions, tips, and modifications into a little notebook, where they promptly lose themselves amidst a forest of similar scribblings. For those of us with less-than ideal note-making skills, Kathryn Ivy presents well-organized, handsome journal templates for both knitting and crochet.

One of the standard items in my knitting bag is a crochet hook—invaluable for picking up stitches, binding off, making picots and bobbles, and snaring little onions out of mixed drinks. Girl On The Rocks is never without one, thanks to her nifty keychain crochet hook.

Don't put away the needle-nosed pliers quite yet. After you've finished making the mini-hook, you can wander over to Turtle Girl's blog, where she shows you how to make a customized row counter, using a few beads and an hour’s work.

Like sewing? Have a disorganized straight needle collection? Craftster shows you how to convert a used hardback book into a handsome needle holder. She used an old physics textbook and the results are unquestionably unique. The fact that you cheerfully tear the book apart makes me wish I had saved my much-despised organic chemistry text from college. Who knew?

Hate sewing? Have a disorganized circular needle collection? Check out pieknits’ no-sew circular needle holder. It’s cute and easy to rig from empty thread spools. Of course, if you hate sewing, you might not have any empty thread spools...

Like sewing? Need something to hold your knitting and all the other stuff you just made? UHandbag shows you how to make a pop-open/spring shut 14” tote with a useful little accessory pocket.

Photographing your work, be it proto-kitting, knitting, or a finished piece, can be difficult. A lightbox makes it a lot easier to take accurate pictures of your stuff. Professional light boxes are expensive, but LollyKnittingAround explains how to make a portable lightbox for less than $20.

Strobist uses a similar light box and explains how to use it for taking exquisitely detailed macro photographs.

A Few How-To's

The Experimental Knitter gives us a new, simple, elastic cast-on particularly appropriate for Guernsey sweaters. Best of all, it doesn't require a long tail.

Now that you've cast on, perhaps you want to embellish the fabric a bit. FluffyKnitterDeb’s wonderful beading tutorial shows you how to easily add beads with a crochet hook, so you don’t have to string trillions of little tiny beady things before you actually start knitting.

BadCat also has a wonderful beading tutorial on the same topic, complete with clear, easy-to-follow instructions.

And if you have finally completed your fabulous shawl, well, somebody actually submitted one of my own posts! How could I not include it, seeing as how this is my Yarnival? My faithful readers will already have blasted past this entry. The rest of you (fleegle who?), especially those to whom grafting is either a mystery or a nightmare, can check out my incredibly frothy description of Grafting for Dummies, complete with visuals of goofing up.

If you have a teeny-tiny doily pattern you adore and want to see it Writ Really Large, The Doily Underground gives an exhaustive analysis of doily-to-afghan conversions.

And speaking of lace (but also applicable to any knitting), MimKnits has a superb set of lessons on directional decreases. She shows numerous examples of yarnover/decrease placement, so you can see the visual effects of the variations. And once you finish reading Part 1, do go through the rest of her tutorials. They are all terrific.

Those who read my blog will understand that Harry, the Giant Knitting Spider, couldn't help but contribute a post about mending webs with yarn. Harry was also thrilled with Nina Katchadourian's Advertising Kit for Spiders, which allows him to integrate ads for karaoke machines and spicy cocktail onions (his favorite snack food) into his remarkably sloppy web.

Great (and Not So Great) Yarns

Fiber Fool clearly spends a lot of time knitting socks, and she has written an excellent, detailed comparative review of eight popular sock yarns. The sample socks are a bit of eye-candy, too!

Want to recycle an old sweater? Neauveau tells you how here. Frogging can be fun, especially if you use your future ex's knitted clothing!

Tired of knitting with ordinary yarn? Yearning to dabble in new media? Knit some marzipan, for a change. The results are amazing! And edible! First check our VeganYumYum's incredible cupcakes here, then motor on to her how-to tutorial here.

If you don’t have a sweet tooth, be aware that Ramen noodles make a splendid substitute for yarn. Watch the video and entertain yourself and your friends the next time you are in a Ramen restaurant.

Entertainment

If you are bored at work (or anywhere, for that matter), you can indulge in a bit of Knitting Boggle, courtesy of The Purloined Letter.

Double Helix obviously spent a lot of time defining variations of the humble swatch. Her lexicon is hilarious.

There’s no pattern here, but as the wife of a retired police lieutenant, I did enjoy this bit of knitted eye-candy.

And finally, if you are getting older and grayer by the second, rejoice! Go Knit In Your Hat has designed the retirement community of your dreams: Purlin’ Acres. Please do not apply for a few months, while I work my application over. Frankly, I wouldn't mind moving there now.

Two Little Gifts for You

Part of the fun of blogging is finding obscure, cool knitting-related thingies and being able to tell you about them. A few years ago, I purchase some adorable stitch markers from Arlyna. I hadn't heard from her in a long time, but this morning, I got an email from her.

Please visit her shop--you will be delighted by the odd and clever straight needles, markers, counting bracelets, bags, totes, and needle pouches--all at exceptionally reasonable prices.

This year she is offering a few nice-quality yarns, as well (No, I haven't ordered any).

I love grazing around her store, and I know you will too. She also offers gift certificates, so you can send the link to your SO and then pick what you want at your leisure. Do use the coupon code f20b1d for a $5 discount at checkout (good until February 1, 2008).

The second gift is a must-have for knitters everywhere. It's an eloquent button you can place on your blog or website, or even adapt to a t-shirt. I have no idea who originated the button, but whoever you are, Kudos!

Amazing Needle?

For those of us who have bags, boxes, vases, baskets, and rolls filled with knitting needles, crochet hooks, and tatting shuttles, you can apparently toss all of them away and buy a set of these instead. With this single gizmo, you can knit, crochet, and tat, apparently al att the same time, without having the hassle of locating just the right circular, straight, dpn, crochet hook, or tatting shuttle.

Somebody has to order one and make a report. I, erm, am frantically busy searching for that 14" size 2 circular with the pointy tips.

p.s. Still looking for Yarnival submissions! Click here and send me something fascinating or educational so everyone can share.

Presto Change-o!

A long, long time ago I acquired a full set of Holz & Stein ebony dpns. With the advent of flexible, pointy circulars, I have zero use for dpns, no matter how lovely. These needles are really beautiful--smooth and richly dark--and I have both 4" and 7" sets.

The other day I was rummaging in my stash closet and rediscovered them tucked forlornly inside my needle roll. The little brain cells began crunching possibilities. A bit more rummaging turned up some Clover circulars that I never use.



A bit of twisting, a bit of glue...and presto, a handsome ebony circular!


In other news...

I am now wending my way down the third side of the Black Widow Spider King and am on row 71 of Lyra. I haven't been setting my needles on fire lately, as there have been some distracting personal issues taking my attention.

Not one to whine about personal problems inside a knitting blog, I do think, however, that everyone can enjoy a laugh at my expense.

Last week, our Japanese orthopedist and his wife paid us a four-day visit, which, among other strenuous activities, included a whole lot of cooking. After heaving gigantic, heavy pans filled with gigantic, heavy turkey and spare ribs, in and out of our awkwardly placed ovens, I managed to herniate three cervical disks.

There is no doubt in my mind that if I ever find myself cooking for my American orthopedist, the meal will include featherweight dishes such as a single potato chip accompanied by a neatly sliced olive. Low calorie, too!

99-Special Continued

Someone asked for a photo of the pin/lighter process. Here you go.


First, stick the pin through the cable.
Second, heat the tip of the pin with the lighter for about 5 seconds.

Let everything cool (about ten more seconds).

Note: Do not touch the pin during the heating process or you will get an uneven and ragged hole. Wonder how I discovered this result.

The 99-Cent Special

Yes, dear reader, for the remarkable sum of 99 cents (plus postage), I acquired this complete set (size 0-15) of bamboo needles from good old eBay (xiaolingli99).


They are almost totally worthless. After being released from their highly compressed packaging, several of the points dropped gracefully to the floor, leaving the cables in my hand. Other tips scrambled for the deck while I was untangling the needle glob. The points were, um, erratic, varying from not too bad to really too bad.

Wait! Don't go away! There's lemonade to be made from these sour excuses for knitting needles.

What attracted me to the set, (aside from the gaily colored cords--I am a sucker for gaily colored cords), was the join. It looked remarkably smooth in the photo and, in fact, this proved to be the case. The joins are impeccable--the finest lace yarns slide easily from cable to needle and vice versa.

Furthermore, the cables turned out to be cheapo hollow tubing. Hmm. I stuck a pin in the size 0 cable and heated it with a lighter, producing a stable hole suitable for threading a lifeline.

A little glue and a bit of sandpaper on the tips and these bamboo disasters will transform into perfect lace needles. Lightweight, smooth join, sharp tips, flexible cable, and lifeline hole. I tossed out sizes 2-15, so each remaining needle cost a whopping 50 cents.

I bought another set. as the manufacturers might "improve" these in the future with a lippy metal join to match the high-priced competition.

Discounted Addi Lace Needles

For those of you who don't know Sandy Terp and and her store at Moonrise Lace Knitting, let me introduce you. Sandy is a talented lace designer who sells a small, but choice selection of yarns; patterns; and now, Addi lace needles. Her prices for the needles are a few dollars lower than retail:

Size 1 in 24", 32", and 48" $11

Size 2 in 24", 32", and 48" $11

Size 3 in 24", 32" and 48" $12

Size 4 in 24" or 48" $12

Size 5 in 24" or 48" $12

Size 6 in 24" or 48" $12

Shipping on the needles is $3, regardless of how many you order. Note that these prices arrived via her newsletter and are lower than those stated on her website. So if you place an order with her, please mention the newsletter price.

And if you are in the market for cobweb lace yarn, do ask for a free sample of her Harmony yarn. It's a luxurious blend of 70% alpaca, 20% silk, and 10% cashmere--about a 2/32 weight with 10,000 yards per pound. Her prices for the yarn are quite reasonable--$40 for a 9 ounce skein, which is plenty for several fine shawls. I bought some at Stitches East last fall and it is lovely stuff.

If you graze around her site, you'll also find books, patterns, and an interesting assortment of tools not available elsewhere, such as a needle gauge that goes down to 00000000 (8x). She also sells 8x needles, for those of you who are into profound masochism.

Deslicking Knitting Needles

This is probably the lowest-tech tip of the decade.

I got desperate this morning as I was knitting a row of the Black Window Spider Queen. Those KnitPicks needles are just too slippery for the Gentle yarn and I was simply hating the entire experience.

I grabbed a piece of medium-coarse sandpaper and gave those needles a good rub-down. Amazing. They are now quite pleasant to knit with--a bit of grip but still enough slidiness to move the stitches along without effort.

If you want to try this yourself, start with a fine grit (maybe 400) and work your way up (down?) to coarser paper if necessary. Needless to say, you should do some test knitting as you go. Eventually, you'll find a texture that works best for you.


I'll just plop another 24" size 2 needle in my KnitPicks shopping basket so I will have an unprocessed needle at hand if I need one.

Black Diamond Head Lamp

Several people have reminded me that good lighting is essential for knitting dark yarn. Yes. Well. My husband took one look at me fondling that black Gentle yarn, scampered to REI, and purchased the best headlamp he could find.

Complete with dorky headstrap and battery pack, this baby could stun an entire herd of moose. It is actually three lights in one--a central spotlight and two slightly less formidable side lights.


They are all LEDs, by the way, so the battery life is pretty good and your head won't cook after you've worn it for a while. There are several brightness settings, too. Oh yes, it has a strobe setting, which I envision using as a signal for more cookies or something.

Comes in green and silver and uses 3 AA batteries. It's called the Black Diamond Icon. On it's lowest setting, it provides 164 hours of light; on the highest setting, 70 hours.