Heard at an Oakland Laundromat
Aug. 24th, 2007 12:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lwoodDue to the fact that I have older, and occasionally ornery, kitties, on Wednesday night they performed acts to my bedding that required a trip to a Laundromat of Large Washers, as a king-sized mattress pad really oughtn't attempt entry into a standard washing machine, and in any case the sleeping bag is specifically contraindicated.
Steeled by a pair of hand rolls from Piedmont Grocery and a Green Tea Freddo (okay, it's essentially a milkshake, but it's green tea, dammit!) from the adjacent Peet's Coffee, I entered the laundromat last night, bedding tied into a bundle and slung over my shoulder in the tradition of my Polish ancestresses of old--it's amazing how much you can get into a king-sized sheet, for that matter.
The Washer of Unusual Size, large enough for both the mattress pad and the sleeping bag, was being freshly taken by to charming young ladies who also had Cat and Bedding Issues. I used a lesser washer for the rest of it, and settled in to lie in wait.
I am--for research purposes, you understand--making several scale-sized sweaters with intent to cause at least two pullovers: one Wool and one Not-Wool. I am using the Ancient and Honorable Proportions gifted unto the Knitting Masses by the Knit-Dis, only donehalf scale...
...once I realised that my Shetland yarn was clicking along at 8 st/inch, not 6 st, I did as She would, I think, have done had she ever wanted a scale-model sweater: declared it one-third scale* and get on with life.
Anyway, the idea is that one knits a body-shaped tube from hem (only in sweaters it's a "welt") to underarms, then the sleeves from cuffs to underarms, and then, as this will have a yoked body, the non-underarm bits are all brought together on a longer needle to be knit up on a yoke and neck. Lastly, the underarms are woven together et voilà! Sweaters without seams!
I had experimented with Fair-Isle-style stranded knitting in several pretty patterns (itself practice for a trio of hemp hats to have made by March), I now had a tube up to the theoretical underarms of my scale sweater.
Next: cuffs and sleeves.
Query: May one strand ribbing? What happens if you do? Oh, that. Okay. Now--a tapered sleeve!
As I was picking through patterns for the first band of this sleeve, a gent happened by with a cloud of fuzzy blonde hair.
"What are you working on? I thought it was socks, but it's way too small..."
See that,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
razorsharpblade? I have found a Male Knitter!
I explain, and he finds it as charming as I do, and then--ah! reveals that he's a pusher. Indeed, he works at Imagiknit in San Francisco.
I admit that I have not been--if I'm leaving work and bound for yarn, I want to be going towards home, so my habit is to hit Article Pract, Stash...or, rarely and usually for the benefit of tourist-in-tow, Artfibers.
Then the counterpoint: they're open 'til 6:30.
Better: they're a long walk or short bus ride + short walk from 16th/Mission BART, to which I can grab a shuttle from the Mad Scientists' Home every fifteen minutes, and practically on top of a couple MUNI stops with which I could head home after.
This was all fairly academic until the Big Reveal...
While talking about Stash in North Berkeley, I allowed as how they were fixin' to order Sea Silk, which otherwise required a trip to far-off Davis (and they are fine folks, but it is still far.
Imaginknit has Sea Silk. Imaginknit has Sea Silk now.
Tonight, I pick up more needles...and scout. Next Friday,faeryl and I will infiltrate.
-- Lorrie
* -- 6 instead of 8 stitches to the inch means that the sweater's circumference is 3/4 of expected. Three quarters of one half is three-eighths (0.375), which is close enough to one-third (0.333...) that, as this isn't being worn by a human, is...close enough.
Steeled by a pair of hand rolls from Piedmont Grocery and a Green Tea Freddo (okay, it's essentially a milkshake, but it's green tea, dammit!) from the adjacent Peet's Coffee, I entered the laundromat last night, bedding tied into a bundle and slung over my shoulder in the tradition of my Polish ancestresses of old--it's amazing how much you can get into a king-sized sheet, for that matter.
The Washer of Unusual Size, large enough for both the mattress pad and the sleeping bag, was being freshly taken by to charming young ladies who also had Cat and Bedding Issues. I used a lesser washer for the rest of it, and settled in to lie in wait.
I am--for research purposes, you understand--making several scale-sized sweaters with intent to cause at least two pullovers: one Wool and one Not-Wool. I am using the Ancient and Honorable Proportions gifted unto the Knitting Masses by the Knit-Dis, only done
...once I realised that my Shetland yarn was clicking along at 8 st/inch, not 6 st, I did as She would, I think, have done had she ever wanted a scale-model sweater: declared it one-third scale* and get on with life.
Anyway, the idea is that one knits a body-shaped tube from hem (only in sweaters it's a "welt") to underarms, then the sleeves from cuffs to underarms, and then, as this will have a yoked body, the non-underarm bits are all brought together on a longer needle to be knit up on a yoke and neck. Lastly, the underarms are woven together et voilà! Sweaters without seams!
I had experimented with Fair-Isle-style stranded knitting in several pretty patterns (itself practice for a trio of hemp hats to have made by March), I now had a tube up to the theoretical underarms of my scale sweater.
Next: cuffs and sleeves.
Query: May one strand ribbing? What happens if you do? Oh, that. Okay. Now--a tapered sleeve!
As I was picking through patterns for the first band of this sleeve, a gent happened by with a cloud of fuzzy blonde hair.
"What are you working on? I thought it was socks, but it's way too small..."
See that,
razorsharpblade? I have found a Male Knitter!I explain, and he finds it as charming as I do, and then--ah! reveals that he's a pusher. Indeed, he works at Imagiknit in San Francisco.
I admit that I have not been--if I'm leaving work and bound for yarn, I want to be going towards home, so my habit is to hit Article Pract, Stash...or, rarely and usually for the benefit of tourist-in-tow, Artfibers.
Then the counterpoint: they're open 'til 6:30.
Better: they're a long walk or short bus ride + short walk from 16th/Mission BART, to which I can grab a shuttle from the Mad Scientists' Home every fifteen minutes, and practically on top of a couple MUNI stops with which I could head home after.
This was all fairly academic until the Big Reveal...
While talking about Stash in North Berkeley, I allowed as how they were fixin' to order Sea Silk, which otherwise required a trip to far-off Davis (and they are fine folks, but it is still far.
Imaginknit has Sea Silk. Imaginknit has Sea Silk now.
Tonight, I pick up more needles...and scout. Next Friday,
faeryl and I will infiltrate.-- Lorrie
* -- 6 instead of 8 stitches to the inch means that the sweater's circumference is 3/4 of expected. Three quarters of one half is three-eighths (0.375), which is close enough to one-third (0.333...) that, as this isn't being worn by a human, is...close enough.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-08-24 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-24 11:44 pm (UTC)--er, I'm still three thousand miles away from you, though.
But still!
-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2007-08-25 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-25 04:07 am (UTC)They only had about six skeins, one each of several lustable colours, as Sea Silk always it.
However! As soon as HandMaiden catches up to them, they firmly plan to have every colour in Some Quantity.
8-)
-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2007-08-25 12:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-25 04:19 am (UTC)As for North of the Border retailing--yes! Lots! (http://handmaiden.ca/retailers.html) However, it's pricey: US price per skein is ~$35, and from what I can tell it's also $35 Canadian.
-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2007-08-25 03:03 am (UTC)Pics of the scaled Sweater of the Knit-Dis Proportions when ready for viewing? :o)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-25 04:25 am (UTC)Mind you! The store I was at also featured fine Australian wool, lovely handpainted laceweight stuff that was quite droolable.
I have heard/read about/drooled over Sea Silk and am intrigued. If I get brave enough sometime I might approach my local dealers about getting me some.
's all within the Commonwealth--that makes it easier, right?
Probably not.
If you look at my response to
Pics of the scaled Sweater of the Knit-Dis Proportions when ready for viewing? :o)
Ha! Getting pictures of my FO's nearly requires a hunting party to pin me down long enough to snap a picture. I'm simply horrid at remembering to take pictures of things...I know what it looks like, and that's good enough, right?
However, I'm told if I don't get pictures up of my finished Cap Shawl, there will be non-consentual spanking. I find this odd--really, it looks just like this one (http://victorianlacealong.blogspot.com/2007/04/cap-shawl-finished.html), only in blue JaggerSpun Zephyr instead of what she's got.
However, with you furriners wanting a look-see, I suppose it's time. I'll see what I can do this weekend about showing off a thing or two...
-- Lorrie