Busy Hands, Listening Mind

I'm not very good at multitasking. Not in general, anyway, and especially not when concentration is required. My family has learned not to talk at me when I'm cooking, because I inevitably do things like forget ingredients, forget to stir the pot, or because it otherwise delays the meal while I attempt to pay attention and respond.

Even so, fiber arts activities tend to be rhythmic in nature. Knitting, spinning, crocheting, and weaving occupy one's hands, and unless it's a complicated pattern that requires counting or concentration, they allow for things like conversation, watching a movie, or listening. It was due to my return to weaving that I discovered that my local library does not have a terribly impressive selection of CD audiobooks. It appears that downloadable books are what's popular now. 

One evening, I searched for free online audiobooks, and I discovered LibriVox. LibriVox is a website of human recorded books (as opposed to computer read books, which I find difficult to listen to.) These books are in the public domain, i.e. mostly written before 1923 for which copyrights have expired. It's a huge collection of well over 18,500 recordings of all genres. Everything is recorded by volunteers. Books can be listened to online or downloaded from either the LibriVox website, or from the Internet Archive. It's a fantastic resource!

Right now, I'm listening on my computer, but it would be nice to have something portable. The last such device I had, was back when walkmans were popular, which I don't think are even around any more. If someone can pass on some suggestions for a listening device, I'd appreciate it.

Busy Hands, Listening Mind © Nov 2023

by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Tool Roll for My DPNs

In anticipation of the outcome of our current house remodeling project, I'm trying to get some things organized and ready to go. Some of the things that badly need organizing, are my crochet hooks and knitting needles. My straight needles reside in a tall decorative can, which is fine. The size is embossed on the ends of the needles, so I can easily find what I need. 

My circular needles, crochet hooks, and double pointed knitting needles, however, are another matter. Mostly they reside in pencil cases, so that I have to hunt for what I need. The crochet hooks are easiest, because they too, have the size on the hook. The circs and DPNs, though, aren't labeled, so I have to use my needle gauge tool to figure out which is which. Plus, the DPNs are usually scattered everywhere, so finding enough to make a set is another chore. I needed a better system. 

That's when I learned about tool rolls. What a great idea, I thought. I can keep things organized, tidy, and easy to find. I started with my double pointed needles. 

I looked at a number of designs, but eventually figured out my own. A tool roll is basically a rectangle of fabric with pockets, that can be rolled up and tied into a compact bundle. 

One of the things I didn't realize, is how many DPNs I have. I have multiple sets of some sizes, but there are some gaps in my collection as well. The nice thing about a customized tool roll, is that the pockets can be made to suit. 

This will be home for my sizes US1 through 10. 

I left empty pockets for needles I need, and had enough space for a pocket for my needle gauge tool!

Folded, it looks like this...

And here it is rolled up and ready to tuck away in a handy place.

Besides being extremely useful, this is a great project for fabric scraps. 

One tool roll down and two more to go.

© 2023 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Stretchy Knit Market Bag

This was another project idea I got from Permies' SKIP program. The requirement was to crochet or knit a bag with straps, measuring at least 12-inches by 12-inches. I looked around for ideas and found a pattern for a knitted market bag from Sheep & Stitch.

For my yarn, I chose Yarn Bee's Sugarwheel cotton knitting yarn.

The pattern required two types of needles, straights for the body of the bag...

and circs for knitting the bag edging plus handles.

There's also a video that goes with this pattern, which was really helpful because I confess the pattern was a little puzzling at times. The instructions called for straight needles but the pictures only showed knitting on circular needles. I verified with the pattern maker in the video comments, that straight needles were indeed fine.

The other problem was that no knitting gauge was given. My tension must have been different because when it came to picking up for the sides of the bag, I ran out of rows before the pattern did. So I had to adapt (rather than frog it and re-do). 

Even so, I think it turned out well. It became a birthday gift for my stepmother, and she really liked it. 

Will I make it again? Uncertain. I find lace type knitting a bit fussy and I don't enjoy fussy. Still, it was good for a one time project and made a great gift. 

© 2023 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Knitting a True Mobius Scarf

Mobius, also known as mobius strip, mobius band, or mobius loop, was named for German mathematician August Ferdinand Mobius, who while probably not the first to discover it, nonetheless gets the credit for it. It is considered a non-orientable surface because the loop contains a half-twist. Clear as mud? Me too, but it's fun to knit, even if it's a bit baffling. Maybe explaining why I'm calling it a "true" mobius will help. 

Some instructions for making a mobius scarf say to knit or crochet a regular rectangular scarf, bind it off, give one end a half-twist, and then sew the two ends together to make a loop. A "true" mobius, on the other hand, knits the half twist into the scarf. After it's cast on, you start knitting and keep going. No beginning and endings; no rows to count. By the time you get to where you started, you've knit both edges of the scarf. So, you just keep knitting and knitting until you decide it's wide enough. Then bind off and it's done. 

For my scarf, I found a lovely yarn in my stash that I was fortunate to receive from someone else's stash remnants purge. The yarn is beautiful and I thought would make a perfect winter scarf.

A lovely space-dyed mohair wool blend worsted single yarn.

The pattern I used was "Knoop" from Knitty.com. The tricky part is the circular needle cast-on because both edges of the scarf are cast on simultaneously. For that, I found Cat Bordhi's wonderful video, Intro to Moebius Knitting.  Since size was arbitrary, I used US8 needles, as recommended on the yarn wrapper. 

Once I got the first couple of rows under my belt, it was easy after that. The amazing thing is, you're knitting both long edges of the scarf as you knit around the circle.

A stitch marker helps keep track of when the circle is complete.

Since there's no official beginning and end to the scarf, it's knit for whatever width is desired.

Casting off

Now you can see the knit in half-twist. 

This makes a fantastic winter scarf doubled, because there are no ends to flop around and fall off your shoulder!

The wool-mohair blend was wonderfully warm. One loop can be worn over the head, with the other around the neck. A shorter mobius could be worn as a cowl. There are a lot of possibilities for how to wear a mobius scarf. 

© 2023 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Rats And Frog

Rats.

Second sock is 6 stitches (2 squares) smaller than the first.
Major duh.

Frog.

Rip-it. Rip-it. What else ya gonna do?

Rats And Frog © 28 February 2012
by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

A Quick Sock Update

The Checquerboard socks are slow in the making

Just checking in with a report that not much is going on fiber-wise except slow progress on the Checquerboard socks. I reached a snag when I was ready to start on the 2nd sock. It seems I left myself no notes or details about the first one, not even what size I was knitting. So. I had to recalculate and hope for the best. It appears that I've become more relaxed since moving to the homestead, which means my tension is looser! I'll finish up the cuffs when I see how much yarn I have left (a nice thing about toe-up socks). And no, I don't care if the colors in the check stripes match. :)

A Quick Sock Update © 27 January 2012
by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Found: Abandoned Sock Project

I know this won't take the prize for the longest running UFO, but I think 2 & 1/2 plus years at least gets a nod.

Chequerboard sock found after being packed away for awhile

This is the first in a pair of Lucy Neatby's Chequerboard Socks. I started on the project back in April 2009, knitted diligently until May, and then set it aside because I didn't like the way the first sock fit across the instep. That was shortly after we moved to our homestead, and we've been so busy since then, that I didn't think much more about them until they were forgotten.

I found the project recently when I was cleaning out a box of odds and ends, and I recalled that I was going to correct the fit. I tried it on to see what the problem was, fortunately having had the sense to transfer the stitches to a length of yarn when I pulled the needles out. After slipping it on, I decided the fit wasn't so bad after all! Project resumed.

Found: Abandoned Sock Project © 15 November 2011
by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Baby Sweater

I have been a very bad fiber blogger. But, I have finally completed something!

This is for my first grandchild, who is now 6 months old. Details on this post. I admit I wasn't in a terribly big hurry to get it done. The pattern was a 6 to 12 month size, and the weather timing hopefully works out so that it will fit.

What's next? Well, maybe some rag rugs. We've begun our kitchen remodel and I already have the dishtowels (here and here). What I'll need is upholstery fabric for the chairs and rag rugs for the floors.

How soon will I get to it? Who knows, my studio is currently stuffed with boxes full of kitchen stuff. Ah, the joys of remodeling.

Baby Sweater © 24 October 2011 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

More Baby Knitting

Once Dan's socks were finished, I wanted to knit a baby cardigan to match the hat I gave my daughter-in-law for Christmas. I wanted to use the same self-striping yarn with a solid, and found just the pattern in Debbie Bliss Celtic Knits.

This is the from the Arygle Twinset on page 62, but I'm using the self-striping yarn instead of doing the stranded argyle knitting. It's a little quicker and will match the hat! Well, it won't match perfectly because the self stripes weren't intended to be worked over this many stitches.

The only problem with my idea was trying to match a solid color to the multi-color yarn. I looked for something in the same line by the same manufacturer, but nothing matched! Neither pink nor blue, and I didn't want to go with white. I settled on another brand of blue, same size, but a better color match.

I've got about a month before my granddaughter makes her debut, but this is knitting up quickly. It will be too large, and I can only hope that she'll hit this size at a time when she can use a sweater!

I'd love to do some baby weaving too, but with our house in a constant state of remodel/repair, my yarns and supplies are still packed away and spread out over several rooms. It's frustrating, but it's the way things are.

BTW, I have baby goats on the way too, but I'm not doing any knitting for them. :)

More Baby Knitting © 31 March 2011
by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Socks & More

Hello! Hello! Anybody still out there? Probably not after all these months. Still, I've just finished Dan's socks and wanted to show them off, mistakes and all.

And mistakes there are many, but he's happy with them and I'm happy they're done. The pattern is the "Classy Slip-Up" socks from Betsy Lee McCarthy's Knit Socks! 15 Cool Patterns For Toasty Feet.  I first posted about these socks almost a year ago. One reason they've taken so long, is because I took some time out to knit this for my daughter-in-law...

That's right, I'm going to be a first time grandmother next month! The pattern came on the yarn label, such a cute little hat. I'm not much on pink, but it would seem that every baby girl ought to receive at least one pink thing. :)

I have a few other things to show off as well, though not the work of my own hands. The first, is Rascal's memorial prayer flag, woven by Theresa.

Rascal was a much loved and faithful companion, so this flag is very special to me. Thank you Theresa!

One other thing to show you...

A name drafted scarf, woven for me by Ellen Turpening. The warp was threaded in our Guild name, Western North Carolina Fiber/Handweavers Guild, for our annual retreat last year. She had some warp leftover, and treadled, "Thank you Leigh Tate for being our president." It was given to me at our November 2010 meeting, when I turned the reins over to our incoming president. I can't tell you how surprised and honored I felt. Thank you Ellen!

Three months is a long time in between posts. I'm still on the fringes of my fiber world, so I can't guarantee how much better I'll do in the future. Still, there are seasons in our lives, and this is one love I will always come back to.

Socks & More © 16 March 2011

by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

I've Actually Finished Something

Can you believe it? I've actually finished something. Is anyone going to faint from the shear amazement of it all?

This is a knitted afghan for the Linus Project, a failed stash reduction attempt, but a nice way to keep my finger in the creative pie. I started it last March, set it aside during the hot summer months, and was motivated to get it done before our October Guild meeting. Project Linus is my Guild's community service project, and is dear to the heart of several members.

It is knit in garter stitch, from side to side, changing colors rather randomly. This enabled me to just leave the ends dangling at the ends of the rows, and later come back and use them as part of the fringe.

I later found out that Project Linus really doesn't care for fringe as a finished edge, so I cut the fringes really short, in hopes it would be okay. If I'd had to otherwise finish the edge, it still wouldn't be done!

Hopefully things will settle down around here this winter and I'll have more time for knitting and weaving. Thanks to everyone who visits in spite of my sorry blog content. It's part of what keeps me going.

I've Actually Finished Something photos and text are © 14 October 2010 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal.

Stash Reduction Afghan Progress & More Socks

Progress on my stash reduction afghan for Project Linus is coming along slow but steady. I never did get that orange yarn, though I would have loved to add orange to this. I just got too far along and gave up on it.

It's at the point though, where it is too big and bulky (and hot) to take with me when I go places. For that, I wanted my usually "go" knitting, socks!

I told DH I'd make this next pair for him. I handed him Knit Socks! 15 Cool Patterns For Toasty Feet , told him to pick a pattern, and to pick a color. Well, he ended up liking the exact pattern I had just finished for myself (pic of my finished socks here), the "Classy Slip-Up" socks.

And what color did he want? Blue and red. Oh dear. For one thing I had just finished knitting a pair of these and wasn't terribly interested in knitting the same pattern so soon. The other thing is that the pattern doesn't exactly lend itself to two color knitting. What to do.

When I pointed the color problem out, Dan said, well, he liked the stripy effect of another pattern in the book, the "Checkered Textures" sock.

Not an accurate scan of the colors, but you get the idea. You can see the full, original photo on page 97 of Betsy Lee McCarthy's book.

The challenge then was how to combine the two sock patterns. I really had to think about this for awhile. My solution is nowhere near the stripy effect of the "Checkered Textures" socks, but he's happy with it, and that's what counts.

The cuffs, heels, and toes will be knitted in blue, the rest of it alternates the blue and red yarns. The blue row is always the slipped stitch row. Since it is the red yarn in the previous row that is slipped, the result is red stripes. The yarns are from KnitPicks.

As with my other projects, these will probably take awhile. But as long as Dan can see some progress on them from time to time, he's happy.

Stash Reduction Afghan Progress & More Socks 

© 16 April 2010 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

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Fireside Sock Knitting
Stash Reduction Fail

Stash Reduction Fail

My intentions are good. After all, I have bags and boxes of acrylic yarns that I really need to get rid of. True, I could give them away, but on the other hand, I find acrylic yarns come in handy for my Guild's community service project, Project Linus. Volunteers donate handmade blankets for children in crisis. The stories of the lives these blankets touch are wonderful. And since one of the requirements is that the blankets must be machine wash and dryable, acrylic yarns fit the bill.

In the past I've woven these. In fact the first project off my Glimakra, was a blanket for Project Linus. (Details here.) Last year I dug around in my boxes of finished objects and donated not one, but two more. Currently, because my loom is still unavailable, I thought I would take all the leftover acrylic yarns and knit a blanket.

The stash reduction stripe idea came from Janet (Janet's Thread), who routinely uses this technique to reduce her yarn stash. My problem was, that as I chose colorful yarns (a sure kid pleaser) and started knitting, I kept thinking, "It needs turquoise" and "It needs orange." Rather than just using what I already have, I had to run to the store to look for more yarn. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), there wasn't any orange, but I did find turquoise.

The result is that I'm having fun with more colors, but I've failed at reducing my stash by much. At this rate, I'll never be finished with my acrylic yarns.

Stash Reduction Fail photo and text are 

© 13 March 2010 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal.

Fireside Socks Done!

These won't win an award for speed knitting, but they're done! White is pretty plain and unexciting, plus it doesn't photograph all that well, but I've wanted some handknit white socks, so here they are.

"Fireside" isn't the name of the pattern, just the name I gave to the project, since these were started while enjoying the fire of our woodstove. They are actually the "Classy Slip Up Socks" from Knit Socks! 15 Cool Patterns For Toasty Feet by Betsy Lee McCarthy. You can read about that here.

What's next? Well, I still can't get to my loom, but if I can find my circular knitting needles, I may start on a blanket. I may be slow, but it's nice to have something creative to do.

Fireside Socks Done! photo and text are © 13 March 2010 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal.

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1st Fireside Sock Done

By Leigh

I finished the first of the Fireside Socks during the Penn State game yesterday...

(I always have trouble photographing white, but you get the idea.)

As you can see, I've also just begun the cuff of its mate. Not sure if the second will progress as quickly as the first, but it might.

In weaving news, I have good news and bad news to report. The good news is that the dining and living room floors should hopefully be done this month, which will mean being able to get furniture, boxes, etc., out of the spare room and my studio. That means the loom will be accessible again.

The bad news is that my studio has no heat. I can open up the French doors during the day to let heat in, or I can spend time in there comfortably if the sun is shining and warms the room up. However, I shut the doors again at sundown because of all the windows in the room. There's quite a bit of heat loss so it keeps the house warmer to simply shut that room off for the night. January and February are our coldest months of the year, but perhaps we'll have plenty of sunny days to enjoy.

I hope your new year is off to a good start. Ours promises to be a very busy but productive one.

Posted 2 January 2010 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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1st Fireside Sock Heel

1st Fireside Sock Heel

By Leigh

Done.

Posted 26 December 2009 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Fireside Sock Progress

Fireside Sock Progress

By Leigh

First Fireside Sock heel flap done.

Posted 13 December 2009 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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1st Fireside Sock Heel

Fireside Sock Knitting

By Leigh

Theresa recently cleaned out her library and I was the happy recipient of Knit Socks! 15 Cool Patterns For Toasty Feet by Betsy Lee McCarthy. I love wearing handknit socks, I love knitting them, and I love collecting sock pattern books.

Obviously I am happy to add this to my own library and of course I set about trying to decide which pattern to knit first. My initial idea was to use one of the patterns with these yarns ...

... from this post, I'm A Sucker For Sock Yarn.

I found a pattern I liked and knitted a swatch. Unfortunately my gauge was too large but I don't have any sock needles smaller than US2's. Well, I do, but they are bamboo which I've broken because, well, I'm not sure why except that I knit with a lot of tension in my hands as well as my gauge! Ordinarily I would just recalculate the pattern but I don't feel like going through the mental gymnastics for that at this point. I decided to save that pattern and those yarns until I can get some double pointed 1's. Instead, I looked for a pattern with the gauge I'd knitted and this is the one I ended up with....

Fortunately this pattern was also on my "must knit" list. The stitch pattern was easy to memorize and it is very pleasant and relaxing to knit by the fire at the end of the day.

If feels good to be knitting again.

Posted 29 November 2009 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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I'm A Sucker For Sock Yarn

I'm A Sucker For Sock Yarn

By Leigh

Especially the odds and ends I find in clearance bins. Consequently I couldn't pass up these ...

No, they aren't the same colorway, similar but not the same. Still, these are colors I like, so I bought them both.

Having odd balls of sock yarn isn't a problem for me however. In fact, I have a growing collection of them...

I really need a small project that I can pick up and set down easily. Something light and easy to take with me.

I'm thinking about this as a possible combo for socks...

Whatever happened to my Lucy Neatby Chequerboard Socks? Well, they are on a long term hold at the moment. They need to be fixed and that would require more brain power than I have to spare these days.

Until I get back to those however, these will keep my sock needles from getting rusty.

© 20 September 2009 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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At Last, Actual Fiber Content :)

At Last, Actual Fiber Content :)

By Leigh

Remember these socks?

These are my Lucy Neatby Chequerboard Socks. This is the project I didn't pack away during moving, so that I would have at least some fiber in my hands to help me keep my sanity in the midst of the chaos of boxes everywhere and not being able to find anything.

I've enjoyed working on these socks, and they've been interesting because the short row garter stitch toe and heel are new for me. I didn't think I would care for them at first, but they match the thickness of the stranded knitting for the chequerboard body of the socks, and so work quite well.

But I've run into a problem. Not because of the pattern, but because of my foot.

The checks are stretched so tight before and after the heel, so as to pull them all out of shape. I'm not happy with how this looks and am not sure what to do about it.

The pattern calls for sizing the sock based on the ankle measurement. I admit I didn't do this because I have skinny ankles. I used the ball of my foot instead, and as you can see, the sock fits fine there. But the ball of my foot has a much smaller circumference than before and after my heel, hence the pulling.

What to do! The only thing I can think of is to somehow increase checks, but am not sure how to do that without distorting the checkerboard pattern. The logical place is at the bottom of the socks. Still, I'm stumped! Suggestions???

Posted 31 May 2009 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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