Komi mittens, part 2

Almost done with the first mitten, just have to do the decrease section at the fingertips and then finish the thumb.



I'll make more of an effort to photograph the mittens properly (in the right light, etc) when they're actually done.

I started out thinking this pair would go to my mom for her birthday in March but they fit me perfectly (like a glove, heh) and her hands are bigger than mine.

Progress Report: Komi mittens

This week I've been working on a mitten from Mostly Mittens using Kroy 4-ply sock yarn on size 1 (2.50 mm) needles. I just put the thumb sts on scrap yarn so I paused to take photos of my progress.


This is the front... or is it the back? They're identical so the mitten can be worn on either hand. Now that I think about it I could have made the knitting easier by doing a 1x1 checkerboard on the palm.


The bottom half of the thumb gusset


The not-thumb side, which neatly avoids the color jog

mismatch socks and thank you cards and ramblings

All right, my only knitting output in January 2005 was this:



Two socks? That's sad. And they're not even a matching pair because one sock is a toe-up short row heel and the other is a cuff-down standard rounded heel. Who knows when I'll get around to knitting their mates, maybe in a month or two or five.

Anyway, in January I needed a break after the mad shawl knitting of October - December 2004 but now I'm now ready to try something new. My first thought was a Starmore sweater but there's the issue of yarn...

I've stocked up on ideas thanks to the library. Three weeks ago I brought home Mostly Mittens, Folk Mittens, and Starmore's Aran Knitting. They've been sitting on the floor next to my comfy chair but they're due back Tuesday so I better figure out what I want to make before someone slaps a hold on the book I need to renew.

Mostly Mittens has an unfortunate title but I like the book better than Folk Mittens, it has beautiful (though somewhat repetitive) patterns based on designs of the Komi people in Russia. I've seen a lot of lovely traditional Folk Mittens type mittens in blogs but the Komi designs are different enough so they manage to look fresh and intriguing.


Comments Ketchup

Stephanie asked: The question I now have is with all those variations on Cast-ons, I've yet to see much in the way of bindoffs - is there really just the one method?? (I ask because I have issues with bound off edges that aren't real stretchy)

I've compiled a list of stretchy bind-offs here. Some work better than others but I didn't take notes so all I remember about the experiment is that my favorite is Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn cast-off.


Kathen wrote an excellent review of her KnitMaster set in the comment section of my last post. Thank you so much!

It's very interesting to hear about the metal bits that are supposed to be on the KnitMaster cables. The needles twist into the cables and they stick quite securely with a seamless join so it didn't seem like anything was missing. Hmmm. The rubber cable itself is gripping the needle and it's a tight fit, which is what made me wonder if the cables ever split at this pressure point. Maybe my kit was an early version and the metal bits were added later or they might have been yanked out by the previous owner. These sets pop up on ebay so I should email sellers and ask them about any metal pieces.

Kathen asked: Is that Needlemaster Kit yours? How does it work? I always thought it would be way better than the Knitmaster, but I am only presuming this 'cause it cost over twice as much!

You can buy a Boye NeedleMaster at AC Moore or Michael's using one of their 40/50% off coupons, usually found in the Sunday paper ads. Their regular price is $70.00 so with a coupon you get a great deal. So, is the NeedleMaster worth buying to have as a second interchangeable set? Probably not, especially if you've never found the KnitMaster lacking. I suspect the NeedleMaster would be a lot more popular if the needles weren't aluminum.

Maybe this will help, I wrote the following a couple weeks ago and posted it in a knitting forum (someone asked for my opinion since I have both sets).

DENISE:
pro: lightweight resin material, you can do the magic loop (buy a 40" cord, sold separately), lifetime warranty

con: if you're a tight knitter then the size 5 might not work that great due to the thickness of the cord (sts have to be shoved along and then over the join), only has sizes 5-15, not everyone likes the plastic/resin material, parts do break sometimes (and the lifetime warranty will only last as long as the family-owned company remains in business).

BOYE NeedleMaster:
pro: sizes 2-15, spare parts can be bought in some craft stores, thin cord so there's no problem with sts sliding along it

con: some complain that the needles unscrew from the cords but I have never had this problem, the metal needles are heavy especially in the larger sizes, the cords are rather stiff which is fine for regular knitting but it doesn't lend itself to magic looping, not everyone likes the aluminum material.

If I had an unlimited amount of money I'd buy Addi Turbo circs in every size, every length. They are my favorite needles, neither interchangeable set comes close.



I can't recall my parents ever making me write a thank you note which is baffling if you ask me. At some point in my teenage years it seemed like the obvious thing to do, so I started sending out thank you cards after my birthday. This is where I falter and likely offend Miss Manners: I thank people for my Christmas and birthday gifts in the same note. Well, they're only 13 days apart, there has to be one perk to having a birthday so close to 12/25. This year I managed to drop them in the mail so they'd be delivered before the end of January. My Dad (of all people) actually sent an email asking "How did you do that?" I was tickled that he asked.




Why Dad, it was the magic of embossing powder! And colored pencils on black paper, always a nice effect.

Curiosity: the Boye KnitMaster

Most knitters know about the Boye Needlemaster interchangeable kit:



... as well as the Denise interchangeable kit:



Last year I found a set of Boye KnitMaster interchangeable needles at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop:




There isn't much info online about the KnitMaster so I don't know when these kits were manufactured. (You'll mainly find ebay hits if you google Boye Knitmaster.)

The KnitMaster looks like a cross between the Boye Needlemaster and the Denise interchangeable needles. All the parts are plastic except for the round red rubber gripper. Another similarity to the Denise kit is the size range, the Knitmaster also has 5 - 15, the Needlemaster has sizes 2 - 15. This can be blamed on the thick cord, which is the same reason Denise can't offer a size below 5.

Attaching the cord to the needle requires inserting the needle into the cord rather than the other way around and then screwing it in. The join is smooth and the needle fits inside the cord securely but I wonder if Boye had a problem with the white plastic cords splitting at the join?



I saw this on the google hit results page: "The other set was the Boye KnitMaster. The latter set I actually was able to break the screw-in portion of. Boye replaced the broken element graciously." The link leads to an error message so I can't say for sure what her problem was or when it happened. I suspect the screw-like part on the needle snapped off and who knows if Boye still has replacement parts handy.

There's a fine ridge along some of the needles from the molding process but those can be filed down. The plastic case has not aged well at all, it is yellowed and very brittle.

Should you buy this kit? I wouldn't pay more than $5 for it but I'm cheap and not sure about the durability of the joins. The Yarn Tree price tag shows the KnitMaster cost $29.98 new, I paid $3.00 at the thrift shop. Google found proof that someone still uses her KnitMaster, Kathen posted a photo in her blog of a WIP on the blue needles.

Does anyone know when these kits were made and how well they hold up with regular use?

Casting On

the knitrider asked:
Are there very many cast on methods? all i know is the basic cast on method, and i know there are ways to make the cast on look neater. can you recommend a book that thoroughly explains them, or a site? Or is that Neatby book the best source?


If you're interested in a specific cast on you can try googling the name(s) it is known by, some sites include helpful videos or photos. I have a short list of sites that feature online knitting videos [click here], they all have videos for casting on.

The first book that comes to mind is Monste Stanley's Reader's Digest Knitter's Handbook, which boasts around 30 cast ons. That's overkill to be sure but hey, why not? Most public libraries should have this book in their collection. The writing is dry, like a school text book, but it covers a lot of ground.

Another book your public library should have is Vogue Knitting (not to be confused with the Vogue Knitting magazine), that book explains how to do about a dozen cast ons.

The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie Wiseman features 7 cast ons and it's worth mentioning because she clearly outlines the benefits and drawbacks of each method.

Neatby's Cool Socks Warm Feet is a great resource for sock knitters, it shows 4 cast on methods (long tail, channel island, provisional crochet, tubular). I do have a complaint about the way this book teaches the kitchener stitch but that's a gripe for another time (if anyone cares to hear it).

How many cast ons do you really need to know? I have no doubt that thousands of knitters know exactly one cast on and their knitting doesn't suffer for it. But it's handy to know something versatile (long tail), something stretchy (twisted german), something firm (cable), something temporary (provisional), and maybe something decorative (picot). And the tubular cast on for K1P1 rib is a thing of beauty. Those are just suggestions, for example there's more than one stretchy cast on and long tail is stretchy enough for a lot of people. There's no reason to memorize everything, that's why I own reference books.

And finally I leave you with a conversation that has never happened before in the history of the Universe:

K: Have you heard of Rent? The musical, you know, Rent?

D: Yeah, Barbra Streisand was in that.

K: No.

D: Oh she was in Lent.

K: She was in Yentl, not Lent. LENT???

D: Oh right.

(at this point we are both cracking up)

K: I am SO putting this in my blog.

Totally Tubular (cast on)

I played with the tubular cast on while swatching for mittens last month but I hadn't actually worked it into a project yet. Last night I figured I might as well do something new with my familiar cuff-down socks so I started a sock with a tubular cast on. You can google for instructions online (and there are completely different methods of accomplishing it to be found) but I like Lucy Neatby's instructions in her Cool Socks Warm Feet book. Neatby gives instructions for how to do it with both K1P1 and K2P2 in the round. In comparison Nancie Wiseman refuses to explain how to do K2P2 tubular in her Finishing Techniques book -- because she doesn't like how it looks! heh.

One thing worth mentioning is that I haven't seen a photo (online or in a book) that adequately shows just how COOL this cast on actually looks in person. I took photos and they also fail to capture the magic.

Here it is, with K1P1 ribbing for the cuff of a sock:


with the waste yarn

after the waste yarn was pulled out

Hmm, I don't know why but it just looks so much better in person. The only downside is that it seems to take forever (at least it did for my 78 stitch socks on size 0 needles) and I'm not sure it's worth the effort. People rarely notice what color your socks are let alone what the cast on looks like. I suppose it's something a knitter does to please oneself, because nobody else is going to care at all.