Knitting With Granny LJ

Good morning:

Knitting is filled with all sorts of very necessary abbreviations.  Some include:  K2tog  aka knit two stitchs  together;  YO aka yarn over; P aka purl and the list goes on and on.  But I think that most crafts have their own special terminology.  I know that a rock-hound uncle of mine introduced me to a rock called leaverite.  I was very interested in finding some leaverite until I realized I was walking on leaverite and that most of the river’s rock bed was composed of leaverite. For those who are not rock hounds leaverite is the rock you leave right where you find it. 

As noted above, knitting has its own incredible abbreviations.  One that still has me kind of bewildered is the SSK.  Am still looking at pictures in the back of magazines trying to figure that one out. I can do an SK just fine.  That is the stitch where you slip one stitch from the left needle to the right needle, knit the next stitch and then slip the first stitch back over the knitted stitch.   But that SSK still  has me bafffled.

Two really important knitting abbreviations that you will probably never find in a knitting magazine or knitting instruction book are:  WIP and UKO.

The WIP is the easiest to grasp.  It is the project that is on your needles or the Work in Progress.  Now a lot of knitters, I know, have only one WIP.  The table on the left side of my work chair is my WIP table.  At this precise moment, I have a WIP table reaching close to the height of Mt Everest.  This is because I have several sets of circular needles and have a cap cast on to all of them  most of the time.  Along with the projects are the directions for the various WIPs.  And along with the WIPs and the directions for them are the latest additions to my yarn stash, like the beautiful rainbow colored yarn I got at the Winterfest Market last weekend.  That yarn is so gorgeous that I just want to keep looking at it.  Eventually, I will find the right pattern for it.  The colorway of the yarn is pretty busy with all the color changes.  But I think I will probably make it up in a busy pattern that keeps the eyes  bouncing. 

At any rate, that is WIP. 

The next abbreviations necessary to a lot of knitters — myself in particular — is UKO.  Translated out of knitting and into English is Unidentified Knitted Object.  I have not a clue how many knitters have UKOs.  I have a lot.  I created one last weekend when I was  at the market.  Thought I had an idea for using some left over yarn and worked hard on it all day Saturday and Sunday.  Yesterday, I took it out of my little project  bag and pulled the needles out and cast on something else.   It was just that the longer I worked on the UKO the worse it got.  Eventually,  I’ll take out the stitches, rewind the yarn and let it rest and then cast it on in another cap.  The one I worked on so diligently all weekend was just too ugly for words  — the only thing reasonable to do with it was UKO the thing. 

Happy knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

I have recently been asked about making a watch cap.  They are very easy caps to make.  When I first started knitting caps, I was so excited about the possibilities of caps and color and design, that I really quit making watch caps.   I had made one out of Lamb’s Pride (Brown Sheep Company) for my son, Ian, several years ago when he was still in Bend.  But I did it in the same dimensions as I did the women’s caps in.  It was too small and he ended up giving it away.  After he moved to Nashville, I did another with the same result — it was too small and he  gave it away.  (I always have been somewhat of a slow learner.)

Then I got a commission to do 5 guy caps for a gift shop in Yachats.  I thought about the two I had done for Ian and decided that I needed more stitches.  I put the cap on 100 stitches and made the ribbing and  the body appropriately deeper. 

So how does one make a watch cap (which I also call a guy cap)? 

I use circular needles size 6. I use the smaller needle because the smaller the stitch the less wind blows through the stitches.  So  my directions will be based on size 6 circular needles.

A Watch Cap aka Guy Cap.

The yarn can be any good wool or wool blend yarn, about 200 yards. I like both the Lamb’s Pride and Galway for doing watch caps.  The Lamb’s Pride is a wool and mohair blend and feels good against the skin.  The Galway is a 100% wool with the scratch taken out.  The yarns feel different in the skein — the mohair makes the wool feel a little more soft, but both make up into great guy caps.

So you have your needles, size 6 circular — many knitters like working caps on a 16 inch circular needle.  I prefer 20 inch needles.  I tried the 16 and everything was so crunched together that I really could not figure out what I was doing.  So I have 20 inch needles. 

Cast on 100 stitches with 1 extra so you can knit the first cast on stitch and the last one together, making a unified circle.

Next comes the ribbing.  I do a K2, P2 ribbing instead of the more usual K1, P1 ribbing.  Why?  I like it better.  Whatever ribbing works for you, use it.  The ribbing should be about 2 inches deep.

Then knit the body.  And that is easy because you knit around and around and around.  It is a great project to carry along, because once you start the body you  knit and that is all.  Do 6 to 7 inches of the  body.  Depth, of course, depends on if you are making a general sort of a watch cap or one for a specific head. If you are working for a specific head, take measurements of the head and adjust the cap body  to the head.

Once the body is done, I do a 7-point top off.   Count the stitches and divide by 7.  You may need to add or decrease a few stitches to get a number that can be divided by 7.  As noted in earlier blogs I do the 7-point top off because I like it, but there are literally dozens of potential top offs.  Be sure to switch to double pointed needles for the  top off, though.

When the top off is done, it is time for finish work.  Get all the loose ends worked in.  A yarn bobble at the top of the cap is optional.  I do not like the bobbles so don’t put them on any of my caps.  If you like them, do one and attach it to the top. 

Well, that is all there is to a watch cap/guy cap.  It is good as a beginner’s project or something for an experienced knitter to take along when traveling or for a change of pace. 

Hope you have a great day.  Good knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

Several things have happened since I wrote last.  First and foremost is that I am down 2 whole pounds from where I was when I joined Weight Watchers.

The second is that my first mail order yarn got here last week and I have been emptying out the box it came in and looking at the yarns.  The colorways are not as bright as the picture in the catalog, but it is still really nice to have some new yarns.  I got so excited about them that I forgot the empty needle I had was really for a special order that I have and cast on a cap in a soft yellow green.  I am not, normally, a fan of the greens and earth tones, but I like this green and will do it up in something that looks like a winter forest.  I just  have not figured that out yet.

The special order is for a black and pink cap similar to the one that I did a year or so ago.  Karen had a customer who wanted the pink and black cap that is in the shop, but she has long, naturally curly hair and the one in the shop did not fit.  I agreed to make a black and pink one for her that will, hopefully, fit her head.   I got a navy blue guy cap on double pointed needles yesterday and used the newly freed up circular needles to cast on the base of the next black and pink cap.  I have about 1/4 of an inch of base done and will probably go to at least 2 inches before I start the pattern. 

The weather has not been cooperating with me for my walkabouts with the boys (Parker and Red), so I have found an exercise bike in a second hand store that looks to be in good condition.  I plan to buy the bike and use it when the weather does not cooperate with my new and healthier self.

And I think I have figured out how to pedal and knit at the same time, but I will have to experiment and see if it works before talking about it.  At any rate, today — so far — looks like I’ll be able to get the boys out for a walkabout.  We all three need to get out and enjoy the ocean and the fresh air.

Have a great day.  Happy knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning,

Karen and I just got back from taking Red and Parker on their first beach walk in a week.  Both the boys were so excited — it was hard to walk as fast as they wanted to.  Once down on the beach, we were the only walkers so the boys had a good run off-lead.  For us knitters being off-lead  is going to a yarn shop with a long list and a pocket of money that will not run out. 

Yesterday Karen and I went to Lincoln City to her artist group meeting.  I took along a pop of that olive green that I love so much, and got that cap cast on.  I was going to do it with the stripes going up the cap from right to left, like the blue and white cap.  Then I got to thinking, how hard could it be to do the stripes going from left to right.  So that  is what I decided to do.  I have about an inch of the ribbing done and will probably start adding the color later today.  Since the yellow varigated yarn is so intense, I have decided to do the color changes a little differently than the blue and white cap.  On this one, I am going to  have 4 of the olive and 3 of the yellow.  I came up with this idea because  I got to thinking this morning before breakfast that the yellow varigated is really an overpowering color and so I would need to make it the  minor color. 

Also I do have to get some finish work done and the caps tagged —  you know, the work  I was going to do last week and then didn’t.  Will also be working on the contest cap today.  There is a short month and then 15 days to the deadline.  So the knitting shouldas and couldas and wouldas are yapping around my ankles. 

Time to get to the knitting.  Hope you all have a good day.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

Karen and I Just got back from taking Red and Parker down on the beach.  Those dogs relish every scent, every foot print, every piece of drift wood with a joy that I can almost feel when I walk into a yarn shop.  Almost but not quite. 

We decided that we needed to get the boys out today for a good run because the weather reports that winter is returning tomorrow.   Well, the rain at least. 

Yesterday, I spent the day in the  house topping off 2 caps.  And I got the 3rd cap (hopefully) for the contest cast on and 5 rows of ribbing done on it.  I decided  that a pill box shape was not right for the cap.  So this one I am working as a deep bodied cap.  I am still using the size 4 needles and have cast on 100 stitches as the base.  I opted to do the mistake ribbing because I think it will be interesting to look at along with the diagonal sets of stitches going up the cap body.  I have not decided on whether to do the diagonal on a 5 stitch repeat or to go something different but keeping the diagonal slant to the body of the cap.  I have thought about doing the diagonals in a 3/4 combination instead of the 5/5 combination.  And really cannot make up my mind on it.

I am running up to Newport with Karen this morning and I always think better in a moving vehicle.  Have come up with some incredible ideas.  The only problem is that I do tend to forget them when I get out of the car, but I have decided that if I get any wonderful idea or insight into the cap, I will tell Karen and ask her to remember it for me. 

I like the blue varigated Noro better than the Noro I used for prototype 2.  I think it looks more like  the ocean and oceanie things. 

Well, that is about all from here for now.  I want to get some stitches in the  Cap #3 while I have a few more minutes.

Happy knitting to you all.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

Was running around yesterday again.  Got groceries and took Karen to brunch.  The weather was incredibly gorgeous.  This morning, we have had a wind come up that is pretty stiff, but the sun is out and the sky is cloudless. 

Came home and put the groceries away.  And went back to work on the contest cap.  Knit all afternoon dililgently.  And got the cap topped off.  I was hoping it would turn out better than it did.  It  is still at a prototype level of work.   I have that other Noro yarn in the blues and blue-greens that I found in my stash recently and will probably cast that yarn on this morning.  I have been thinking that if I go to smaller needles and do a ribbing — probably mistake ribbing — and make the body looser — maybe it will be more to my liking. 

One thing that really  has me baffled, though, is that I did the top-off on  prototype 2 exactly like I did on prototype 1 and it is not as neat, somehow, as proto-1.  I have not a clue why that should be.  If there are any knitters out there who might have an answer to that question, I would love to hear from you.  I sure can’t figure it out.

At any rate, I have to get myself a little bit out of the contest-cap mood for a while and get the caps on the finish table topped and ready for finish work.  I have some good ones that  need tops and need to get out to the cap tree at Shorebirds. 

This weekend I emailed Dodie, my friend and knitting mentor, and asked if she would like to go to the knitter’s convention in Portland in March.  She does not drive either, but she has a husband who is willing to drive us around a  bit. I have never  been to a show that caters to knitters and crocheters.  I would love to go and smell the yarns and see what other people are knitting — yarns, patterns, needles the whole ball of wax. 

I had a note from my granddaughter, Sasha, this week.  She has been reading these blog messages and says that they are cool.  What a compliment!  I hope others are reading them, too.  And enjoying them as much as I enjoy writing them.  Makes me feel like I am in a circle of knitters, knitting and visiting. 

Thanks again, Sasha, for the card and for letting me know that you are reading my blog.  Hope you have a good week.

Have a good day knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

The weather is wonderful this week.  Cold, but lots of sun and very little wind.  Karen and I got Red and Parker down the beach yesterday and again this morning for a good romp.  They were really getting rather stir crazy while the weather was stormy. 

Worked on the contest cap yesterday.  Finally got the cap cast on and the first rows done.  Tried to work on it Monday afternoon but had to put it aside and wait until I could focus better.  What  I would like to know is how come when a task is a practice or a ho-hum type of thing it goes off without a problem.  But let something become important and every thing that can go wrong with it will go wrong.  Well, that was the day yesterday when I was casting on the cap for the contest. 

About lunch time, I finally got the cap on needles and started the base.  I am going to do it in a basic pill box with the top off the same as I did with the red prototype.  Am working the contest cap in a Noro  Silk Garden yarn.   I got about 3 inches done yesterday and as I was working along, I noticed that the stitch changes are not as distinct as they are in the red prototype.   

My first inclination this morning when I looked at it was  to take it out and try another yarn,  but the yarn has to be something that is sold by Yarnmarket, and the Noro is the only yarn  I have on hand that is sold  by  Yarnmarket. 

I spent about 20 minutes on the Yarnmarket site looking at yarns and the only yarns that I  liked were the Noro yarns.   But I did see some that would probably do pretty well.  It is just that I did not want to enter a “pretty well done”  cap.  I don’t do things like contests very often and I don’t want to send pictures of a cap that could have been done better. 

The other thing I can do is to switch down to smaller needles.  I have the cap on size 6 needles now.  If I took out what I have done and went to a 5 or even a 4 that might solve the problem.  I think I’ll go start again even though I may have set a record for the number of times a project had to be cast on.  But that is one of the really good things about knitting.  You always have the option to take it out and do something else with the yarn. 

I want you all to know that today is my sister-in-law Flo’s birthday.  A few years ago she joined the 39-forever club like the rest of us.  Happy birthday, Flo, hope you have a great day. 

 Good knitting to all of you out there.   Granny LJ

Good morning.

My  cold has really gone the way of all good colds — far away, that is.   It is nice because my brain does not have to decide whether to breathe or knit because I can do both simultaneously, again.  

Worked on the olive green EB yesterday.  Had to tink about 4 rows or so because the yarn ply is not very tight and so if I am not careful, I can knit only part of a loop of yarn and that makes a mess that needs to be tinked immediately or tinked several rows down the line, depending on when I catch the error.  But this is such a lovely yarn and the EB is going to be so striking that I am willing to put up with problems of working with the yarn. 

And now that the cold has wandered out to sea or where ever it is that terrible colds go when they go away, I have to get back to the caps that are on the table, too.  I have almost nothing ready for finish work to go out at Shorebirds for this month. 

So one project looming today will be rooting around on the “in-progress” table and seeing what needs to be done to what and getting going on some of those “whats.”  I can think of at least 4 caps that are ready to top off.  The sunshine cap is ready for finish work.  The mushroom cap is hiding under some other work on the table.  And so it should.  The silly thing has given me more irritation than good work since I started doing the white bobbles on what is going to be the cap of the mushroom shape.  Maybe if I let it sit about a week longer it will be less of a problem.  If not, I may just take it out and start again. 

But my major chore for the day is getting that olive green  EB done and ready for finish work.  And get some others cast on.  I finally figured out that on the needles I am using (straights) I can cast on at least two and  possibly three EBs and work them simultaneously. 

Guess I need to go to work on that EB before it ends up like the mushroom cap — hiding on my work table.

Have a great day.  Good knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

Well, I got myself to the doctor the first of the week and this pesky head cold is on its way to where ever head colds go after a goodly dose of antibiotics.  As long as it is out of my head, I don’t care where it has gone, actually.

And the timing on the head cold going away perfectly coincides with the beginning of a new year.  That is a good sign, I  think. 

Unfortunately, the knitting had to go on a back burner while the cold raged.  I have, in the past, tried to knit when I was not feeling well — and have  made record tinkings as a result.  So I have learned to just put the yarns and needles away until I am better and can concentrate.

Worked on the white EB yesterday.  Got the length done and then did a normal cast off.  The cast off end is about half again as wide as the cast on end.  I  thought about it over breakfast and I think what I will do is take it out and reknit it and then at the cast off end, I will see how it works if I k2tog on all the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.  Then on the opposite side do the k2tog on the knit stitches again.  Then on the 3rd  end row just go ahead and cast off the rest of the stitches. 

I think that will probably take care of the bloom-effect of the cast off end.  I hope so, at any  rate.  Will also be rummaging the work table and seeing what caps need what done to them.  I  hoped to have about 4 or 5 caps a month to take down to Shorebirds, but this month the new cap supply is a little lean.  So will get out the bin of finished caps and see what can be taken to Shorebirds  and reshown for the new month.

A new year always has so many possibilities.   I hope your year succeeds in fulfilling all the good things you envision for it.  Keep knitting and have a great new year.

Happy knitting,  Granny LJ

Good morning.

Christmas always kind of surprises me here on the coast.  In the Valley, everything lights up a day or two after Halloween with Christmas lights and gift wrap and ribbons and all the things to temp you into buying something that someone will enjoy and be glad to receive.

Here on the coast it is a little more subdued.  We have Thanksgiving  before the Christmas lights go up.  And there is, I think,  more of a celebratory mood.  Last week at the market one of the vendors had Christmas swags that she had made and she had folks excited and buying them.

This year, I decided that I would do some ”seasonal” caps for my space at Shorebirds.  To kind of test the market, I did 2 caps that could be regarded as Halloween oriented.  The cap I had done for Thanksgiving, sold in the November show.  I have 2 Christmas caps at Shorebirds. I did not anticipate a winter show opening here in Waldport so I really don’t have seasonal caps for Saturdays. 

But what I  have learned over the years of knitting caps and marketing them is that you cannot predict what will sell and what will not.  Who will buy and who will not.  It is just a matter of who walks in and when and why. 

That is why I decided a long time ago, that I will pretty much make whatever cap that  pleases me and if one of them is something that someone cannot live without, that is good.  I have had caps sit in the sale  bin for a couple of years before the right person comes along and gets it.

I knit for the enjoyment of it and the sales really are seconday.  I started a cap yesterday that is going to be interesting to make.  I am doing it in a rich pale blue wool yarn and a wool and synthetic speciality yarn in blues and whites.  It is going to be a wave cap.    What could be more appropriate for a cap from the coast.    I have figured out a pattern that will, I think, look like waves hitting the shore.  I will  be doing the waves in the blue and white.  I got it cast on yesterday and have about 4 inches done.  And  so far so good. 

Well, that is about all from here for today.  I need to get at the knitting.  The olive green cap?  It is about ready for topping.  The mushroom cap?  Well, hit a snag with that one.  I  have learned that if I hit a snag it is better to put it aside for a while.  So the mushroom cap is sidelined for now. 

Hope you have a good day.  Happy knitting.  Granny LJ