I mentioned in an earlier post that my DH (Dear Hubby) made me two beautiful necklaces for Christmas, the silver PMC (Precious Metal Clay) necklace (shown here) and this post’s star – a fused glass and silver clay pendant (click on the picture for a larger view). The glass was a sheet of swirling aqua and teal with the barest hint of glitz, the silver clay (PMC) detail was formed by painting the clay on a tiny wood branch. One interesting effect was, since the glass and the PMC was all fired at the same time, the glass acquired a silver halo where it is next to the silver clay. This was not expected and very much contributed to the appeal of the fused glass. Because we both like this effect so much I hope he can duplicate it. I wonder what caused it, the glass absorbing a gassing off effect from the silver? Humm….. The whole pendant is about two inches high by 1 inch wide. Isn’t he just the cleverest thing?

Speaking of my Honey, here are the hand warmers I knit him for Christmas. Made from SWTC Karaoke in color Tobacco. This is a lovely single ply, heavy worsted weight in a wool and Soy Silk blend. They knit up quick and handsome.

I made a pair just like them in deep navy, almost black(not pictured) for my brother. Never again! The color was so dark, it was very difficult to see except in the middle of the day. You know I love you Mike, but your next pair will be a light color My only concern for these two pair are the fact that since they are not all wool, they don’t have the “memory” to spring back after wearing and tend to stretch out a little. Washing resolves this but 100% wool would have avoided it.

I have the same concern for the hand warmers I knit for my SIL. Lynda’s were made from Noro’s Cotton Iroha that is 70% cotton, , 20% cashmere, and 10% nylon. The same gauge as the Karaoke, and with the same memory problems.

The nice thing about this yarn is that it is so soft. Not something you usually think of in the same sentence as Noro, although I love their Silk Garden and have made a few things from that. Lynda’s hand warmers are knit in a spiraling rib; the better to show off the color changes.

Last of my Holiday hand warmer knitting was the pair I did for my step daughter and her husband. Penny’s are the prettiest yet - I did them almost last so I was in the zone

Made from GGH Samson; 100% washable merino in a lovely dusty purple. This yarn was soooo nice to work with; soft and with such wonderful stitch definition (the cable showed up very well) that I have resolved to use it again for something – yum! I used the same pattern for hers and Todd’s (he’s a policeman so I thought plain grey in Cascade 220 Superwash a good choice) as I did for Jack’s and Mike’s above. It’s a variation of Knitting at Knoon’s Hand Warmer Pattern that is available free on the Internet. I adjusted for gauge and size and replaced the stockinette with a 2×2 rib and added the braided cable from November 19th of my perpetual calendar; 365 Knitting Stitches a Year.

I still have three pair of socks on the needles and my sewing machine is calling me – really loudly! But, my sewing studio is such a mess I have to clean it before I can even find the machine – sigh……

Time to consider doing something about it.

Deb H

Here are some photos of the hand warmers (and one pair of slippers) I knit for Christmas presents and some of their recipients. My family on Christmas morning; they seemed to be pretty appreciative of the extra warmth. Could it be because it actually snowed on Christmas day in Portland, Oregon this year? The slippers, lower left, were for my Mom who got hand warmers last January for her birthday. And if you look at the lower right corner you will see… yes, a pair still on the needles. My poor hubby, it seems he always gets his projects in-work. I’m happy to report, I had them finished before the day was over

Here are some details. The fuzzy bunch… Its amazing to me how fast it is to knit with one strand of worsted weight wool and one strand of novelty yarn on a pair of size 9 needles! Since I usually knit with sock weight yarn on size 1’s or size 0’s, that’s quite a difference. These were all done in 2×2 rib with thumb shaping like a glove but I did not pick up and knit farther up the thumb. Make sense? Sorry, I didn’t have a pattern.

Left: Black fuzzy yarn (brand?) with some blue iridescent beads spun into it, combined with one strand of Heirloom’s Easycare 8 (DK weight) in denim blue. I made two pair of these, one for my daughter and one for my older niece.

Notice I discovered a new trick - One of my options when I post a photo is “FILE”, if I check this, you can click on the photo and it will take you to a larger version of that picture (assuming I have one). If the photo has a border it means you can see a larger picture. Cool beans, huh? Yes, I’m much better at color than computers, sigh….

Right: The same as above but in a cool Merlot, isn’t that just a great color name? Again, I made two pair, one for my younger niece and one for the gift exchange at work.

Left: These were a bit fuzzier, one strand of gray Cascade 220 SW and one strand of SWTC’s Fur Real in Silver Fox. They are sooooooo soft and machine washable, I made four pair of these and I kept one for me!

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Right: There are more (pictured right about mid December), but I’ll have to show you them on another day. It’s snowing here again, I’m off to put on something warm!

Stuff I’m doing besides art (but still creative - I keep telling myself);

Painting the hall way; mint green with olive trim.

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Deb H

Knitting in the News; the Wall Street Journal had an article in today’s paper on how deadly serious knitters can get. I thought it was a hoot and it even sounded like wicked fun It was all about a game of Assassin with hand knit socks - a sock knitting race/competition, if you will. I sooooo loved this! Read all about it at Sock It to Me.

And the Coping with Winter thing has started. We had 4 or 5 inches of snow yesterday in the SE corner of Michigan. Other parts got it worse. Personally, I can live without ever seeing another snow flake the whole rest of my life. I guess I wouldn’t mind so much if the brutal cold did not go with it. Can’t someone invent warm snow? Oh, wait! Mother Nature has already done that, it’s called rain

But, on the bright side (there is always a bright side, sometimes its just good at hiding), cold weather means you can wear all that wonderful knitting and weaving and quilting you’ve been doing. From about Halloween through April, my hands are cold. It interferes with all of my hand-ish chores. My solution is (of course) knitted hand warmers. Most of mine are very practical and almost all of them are made of odd bits of left over yarns. I did do one pair from a lovely cashmere and silk blend that I dyed just for the purpose. The problem arose when my dye job - an adventure, as always - produce two balls of very different colors. I had been teaching a class in adventurous dyeing (the only style I know) and grabbed two balls of this lovely expensive yarn off the shelf and didn’t even skien it up, much less scour it. I just took a syringe and squirted green and blue dye into the center and around the outside of each ball, set the dye and rinsed. I skeined it and was surprised at the results (so, what is new about that)? Both skeins had both colors but one was very blue and one was very green. This was about three 0r four years ago and I had been meaning to write a short article for my web site on knitting with hand dyed yarns. This presented the perfect opportunity. To make a long story short, the finished hand warmers matched perfectly! Here is the tutorial I wrote so long ago on knitting with hand dyed yarns when all the skeins don’t exactly match.

But, back to using up all those odd bits. My favorite pair of hand warmers, and the ones that get me the most attention are my Ruffled Rags. Pictured above and below, they were a combination of two patterns, the basic fit is a pattern I bought; Arthritis/Carpal Tunnel Hand Warmers, by Joan Sheridan Hoover at Heritage Spinning and Weaving and a free pattern; Mrs. Beeton’s Wrist Warmers, by Brenda Dayne from Knitty.com. I did some adjusting of gauge and number of stitches cast-on and in the thumb. The Heritage pattern was written for sock weight yarn and I used worsted weight. Bit of a difference there. Then I used sport weight on my ruffles and changed them a bit too. But they were the inspiration and the launch pads for my favorite warmers OK, small confession here; the ruffles are a bit big and often get in the way. But its a small price to pay for knitting couture

OK, I’ve procrastinated the things I should be doing to get ready for Christmas long enough. I think I’ll try to avoid the distractions that keep jumping in front of me and focus (a novel concept). Have a terrific Holiday to everyone and see you after Christmas!!

Deb H

A little history about me; my father was a Sea Captain. I spent more time on a ship during his life then on dry land, at times I get very homesick for the smell of salt air. He was also a Merchant Marine during WWII; running oil tankers from Alaska to Seattle for the war effort. He ran the Mail Boat along the Aleutian Chain in the 50’s, but mostly, he was a King Crab fisherman. That was in the days when the crab was processed right on the same ship that caught it and it was truly fresh! The last ship I remember him having was 164′ converted mine sweep called the Alaska Trader. I waffle on about all this because it’s actually fiber related! How you ask, with bated breath?

I’ve finally found a Charity I can relate to. I can’t believe in all my years that I have never heard of this but I do live a sheltered life and don’t get out much ;o) I’m too busy at home playing with fiber and I like it that way.

The Charity I found is The Christmas at Sea Program. It’s a group that collects and distributes hand knitted scarves, hats, socks, vests, etc… to seamen from around the world who enter a sea port or river port. They are based in NYC so I’m not sure how many ports are covered by them but the number of items they distribute is staggering! I’d like to find out if there is something similar to this for the West Coast Seaman. The organization is affiliated with a church but aside from that and the knitted garments they also provide other small necessities as well as legal aid, training, and other practical help. I’m more interested in saving ears, toes, and fingers than souls but I know first hand how hard a seaman’s life can be and think this is a wonderful excuse to knit! I’ve placed a link to their Blog down my sidebar somewhere if you’d like more info. Oh! They will also provide the yarn if you cannot afford to donate more than your time and they have free patterns on their site. It’s a bit late to get items to them for this year (the deadline is 12/19) but I’m planning a few for next Christmas

The scarf you see pictured here is one I designed for my DH. For those of you who frequented my web site when SZ was a fiber art supplier, you will recognize this as the scarf and pattern I knit for my honey for Christmas 2004 and posted for my customers shortly after. It’s a variation of a basket weave stitch with a seed stitch border and looks the same on both sides. It also, does not curl. I have posted the pattern so you can use it to knit a man’s scarf for sailors or your own deserving man. Go to My Man’s Scarf Pattern.

Happy Holiday knitting!

I’m just too clever for my own good! I have invented a new cast-on, a nice and stretchy one that is really easy. Since I can’t show you all of my current projects (they are all Christmas presents, the projects for me being on-hold), I can at least show you my clever new cast-on.

First, the description, then a little demo. It’s a simple knitted cast-on with an extra step; using a knitting needle in your left hand and a crochet hook, about the same size as the knit needle in your right hand. Make a slip knot and put it on the left hand needle. Using the crochet hook, enter the loop as if to knit and (surprise!) knit a stitch. As you all know (who are familiar with a knitted cast-on), you do not remove the stitch off the left hand needle, instead you put the loop from the right hand needle on the left needle. But WAIT, don’t do that yet. Next, chain one with the crochet hook and then put it on the left hand needle. You have effectively cast-on a stitch with a chain stitch in between. Lots more room, lots more stretch! Just keep doing that and you have plenty of stretch for a sock top, glove wrists, sweater hems, etc. You can even adjust the amount of stretch by adding the extra chain only as often as needed; like every third stitch that you cast-on, or for a ruffly edge, add two or three chains between each cast-on stitch. Here is a demo;

While I’m basking in my stupendous feat, I do know I probably am not the first one to dream this up and millions of knitters all over the world, for centuries, have already discovered it but… I’m still impressed with myself ;o) To add chocolate sauce to the event, I’ve also figured out videos and how to put them here. Cool, huh?

As for Ravelry, I’m in! If you are there, come see me. Back to Christmas projects…

Deb H