Playing Fetch.

The needles are a-click again at Chez Zézette with the next couple of projects under way. Two on the go currently, both from Knitty, and both are things I've never tried before.

The first is a lace shawl. This one is for my mother-in-law's birthday, which is in March. I'm giving myself plenty of lead time because I'm new to this lace knitting malarkey. I'm not so keen on the colour I've chosen, but it's one I think she'll like which is the main thing.

Picture from Knitty.

Imagine this in deep turquoise mohair and you're on track. I've made a start and so far it seems to be panning out OK.

The second project is a pair of fingerless mittens, or will be when I've finished the second one. I was astonished to finish mitten number one and find that it fit a human hand and looked like the picture on the pattern. Knitting with five needles (four double-pointers plus one cable needle) looks pretty impressive, so Lofty thinks I'm a genius. This may well be the case, but I'm not sure that knitting ability has a lot to do with it.

I started the second one today but had to unravel it this evening due to what could be kindly described as eccentric cabling. Sometimes a piece is simply hexed and the only thing to do is to drive a stake through its heart and move on. I'll start it afresh tomorrow.

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I said I'd post the pattern for the second teddy bear variation and haven't. But do you really mind? I didn't think so. As it turns out the teddy bear morphed in to a rabbit, and a tubby bugger at that. It's not much smaller than boy baby, the bunny's recipient. It's been named Alexei, as in Sayle. Who is that fat ugly bastard?

Lofty had something to say tonight with regards to the faces on the bear and rabbit. Too inexpressive. I made them that way so that I can point out to the kids at bedtime how quiet and sleepy they are, but Lofty finds the lack of a mouth creepy. Once again I find myself wondering if I'm planting the seeds of phobia in my children.

Teddy Bear Pattern Version 1 - The Wrap Up

Teddy bear number 1 has been done; now for making another one, bigger and better. OK, perhaps not bigger, but certainly some modifications are in order. Shorter legs, wider middle and a bit of a pot belly. The rest of it I'm pretty happy with. Who would have thought that I'd get creative satisfaction out of making teddy bears? Not I, that's for sure.

Pattern-like description to follow.

Teddy Bear Pattern Version 1

This is based on the Red Cross Trauma Teddy, but is modified somewhat. The Red Cross project has its merits to be sure, but I'm not so keen on the aesthetic of the final product.

I'm only part way through making my first attempt, so may make some changes as I go. Aside from that, I'm planning to make some other variations, specifically making the torso wider (I like my teddies tubby) and the bottom of the legs rounded.

Oh, and sorry for the way the pattern's written. I rarely follow patterns, let alone write them.


Legs
Cast on 12 stitches (leg)
Knit 42 rows
Leaving first leg on needle, knit another leg to match.

Torso and Arms
Knit across legs another 26 rows
Cast on 12 at next 2 rows
Increase 1 at beginning of next 6 rows
Knit 4 rows
Knit 2 tog at beginning of next 6 rows
Cast off 12 at beginning of next two rows.

Head*
Knit 22 rows
Knit 2 tog at beginning and end of next 12 rows

- Knit another side to match.

Ears
Cast on 10
1) Slip 1, knit to end
2) Slip 1, knit to end
*slip 1, kn2tog, knit to end* repeat until 4 stitches remain.
Cast off.


- Stitch face features on.

- Attach ears to wrong side of back half.

- Sew front to back edge to edge, leaving opening for filling

- Fill with acrylic fibre (or whatever you choose to use) and complete sewing up.

- Weave thread through neck and gather.

*The original pattern is for garter stitch. If using garter, switching to stockingette for the face makes stitching features on a little easier.

Beyond Wool and Needle

Knitting is very slow.

Knitting is not quick.

If you're an instant gratification type, knitting is not the pick.


Funnily enough, I am an instant gratification type in many ways. I find knitting a valuable exercise in slowing down, being patient, grooving on the journey rather than grinding my teeth in strained anticipation of the desitination. It's not easy. But I'm getting there.


Needle through, yarn over, pull it back through... and off........

Needle through, yarn over, pull it back through... and off........

Needle through, yarn over, pull it back through... and off........

Needle through, yarn over, pull it back through... and off........

Needle through, yarn over, pull it back through... and off........

Needle through, yarn over, pull it back through, needle back in, yarn over, pull it th-h-h-hro-o-o-o-ough..... and off.....

Turn the stitch counter one...

Start again.........

Needle through...........


...and so my mind chants. Fixing my attention on such a mundane and manual task gives my mind licence to wander, yet keeps it tethered to the weaving in and out. The sublime union of freedom and restraint, liberty and bondage, makes for some fruitful reflections.

The end of the year is in sight, and so with it comes my annual spring tide of twinkly-eyed optimism. It's impossible for even the heaviest heart not to lift as the errors of the dying year are archived and the shiny promises of the new one contemplated. It's a time for potential.
I am very excited about the coming year. It's taken a long time to ramp the energy up since coming back to Brisbane; to know where to go or what to do. Or how. The first glimpses of the rest of my story have been hard to catch. But aren't the things worth having like that?

Not unlike the knitting. Stitch by stitch by stitch by stitch. It's a long, concentrated slog, but once it's finished...

Have a great Potential Season. May your coming year be just difficult enough.

Yes, I posted this on The Other Side as well. I thought it fit well in both places.

Tit Bits

Like many people, I've known my fair share of women who have lost a breast to the rapacious nibblings of cancer. The two closest to me who've gone through this ordeal are both fellow knitters, so naturally this caught my eye:

What the hell are they, I hear you shriek? They're Tit Bits, of course. Handmade, groovy-as-all-getout prothesthetic breasts. Better than "real" prostheses; cheaper, cooler, funkier and made with the kind of love I'd hazard is somewhat deficient in medical appliance factories.

If you feel the urge to make one for the lopsided ladies in your life, you can find the pattern at the always-wonderful Knitty. Make one for every occasion!

I'm planning to get a couple started pretty soon; I have some feather-soft lemon yellow cotton from an op shop-purchased garment I unraveled a couple of years ago. I've been wondering what the hell to do with it. Should be just the thing.

Of course, once you're done tit knitting, you can move on to recreating the rest of the female anatomy:

I've mentioned the knitted uterus before, but I think it's worthy of a re-run, don't you?

Both photos from Knitty.com

Bag Hag

I've been neglecting this arm of the Safari of late. This was originally because I've not actually been doing any stitchin', then, more recently, because I've been doing too much to be bothered blogging.

I lost interest in the sticks for a bit, but recently I was visiting Oxfam to pick up some of my regular East Timorese caffeine supplement when I just happened to swing via Lincraft, which is, after all, right next door. I was browsing the yarns -- just passing the time, mind, not there to buy anything-- and happened upon a familiar product, albeit in a different form to any I'd seen before.

Being a keen gardener, I immediately recognised this material as weed mat, a sheet of water-permeable nylon put under mulch in order to keep weeds from poking through. It's wonderful in the garden and I've used it often, plagued as we were with nutgrass at our last house. It's also used as disposable fabric in hospitals, for gowns and pillow cases and the like. Intrigued, I picked up a ball of it to give it a go.

It doesn't slide over itself readily, so it's a workout and knitting project all in one, but on 10mm needles it does knit up very quickly, so I had a bag made up in just two evenings.

The verdict on the weed mat is that it's a good thing, so much so that I've got another bigger one on the way.

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The felting project is still trundling along, too, partly pushed along by orders from friends enticed by the ever-changing parade of bags I drag along with me.



This one, completed some time ago, has triggered the most industry, with the latest being commissioned by not only the tallest man I know, but also the only piano tuner. He's asked for it sans fluff, though, inexplicably.

Felted wool is attractive! The fabric has a pleasant fuzziness and is robust enough to cope with the rigors of every day use. It's also very forgiving towards glitches by the distracted knitter, which is one of my favorite aspects of it.

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Given that I'm hoping to return to study next year, I'm having thoughts of how to turn this burgeoning bag industry into dollars. To that end, I've been combing the op shops to see how viable using recycled materials would be -- handles and yarn don't come cheap, you know. A day out at Sunnybank trawling the bins at the Salvation Army warehouse seemed to be saying that it would be very viable indeed. For a dollar per piece I picked up several bags that I've shredded for handles, clasps, rings and a couple of balls of hemp yarn. Quite a bargain considering that cane handles retail for around $5 per piece.

It's looking to be a good source of glitzy fabric for the evening bag range I've recently started, too.

This hasn't photographed that well -- knitting never seems to -- but the shreds of fabric catch the light and give the fabric a shimmery look, which is quite attractive. I've got even higher hopes for non-stretch lamé, so you'll find me rummaging through the After 5 section of Lifeline, hunting for sparkling atrocities to demolish. I expect it to be very satisfying on many levels.

Yes, it's a bit late, but still... hope you had a good one, my capital-ist friend.