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Knit Me Up, Scotty! Star Trek Inspired Knits

May 17, 2013 by caityrosey

The new Star Trek movie opens today. It has gotten middling reviews, but I’ll probably see it on the big screen anyway. After all, it features Benedict Cumberbatch (a.k.a. Sherlock) as the villain.

I’m no Star Trek fan girl, but I’m a big fan of the knitted items its fans come up with. I appreciate the love, effort and attention to detail that the fans are willing to invest. Really, it’s no different from the Jane Austen themed knitwear craze.

Here are a few of my favorite Star Trek themed patterns.

Criteria for selection: The pattern has to wow me in some way without creeping me out (I’m, talking to you, enormous-head-of -Captain Kirk hook rug and Zachary Quinto/Spock fan-sweater ).

Trek Girl Dress

This pattern not only evokes the sexy style of women on the original series, it also looks wearable. The skirt is a bit short, but it would probably be OK over leggings. It’s the perfect example of Trekwear that’s not just for conventions. I’m a little worried about that rolled hem though: it seems to want to continue to travel upward. Is that just my imagination?

by Toni Carr, as seen on Ravelry and in Knits for Nerds

Spock Mittens

Such a clever idea. I wonder if it affords any added manual dexterity, useful when you need to work outside in the winter. Again, this is not a sock-you-in-the-face-with-my-geekiness project. It’s subtle.

Spock mittens by Amy Molnar, as seen on Ravelry

Borg Fingerless Gloves

At first glance, these look like innocent cabled mitts, but there’s something much more sinister at work. Here’s how the author describes them:

These intricate cabled gloves are inspired by everyone’s favorite villainous collective, the Borg. The travelling cables reminded me of Seven of Nine and the Borg Queen’s bodacious Borg implants – nanotubes everywhere! Make a pair for yourself or the favorite Trekkie in your life, and remember: We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Borg Fingerless Gloves by Sam, as seen on Ravelry and in Tea and Trilithium’s Ravelry Shop

Junior Crew Member Onesie

It is a truth universally acknowledged that children can get away with wearing tutus, capes, and Freddie masks year round, not just at Halloween. And babies get even more leeway. I’m very tempted to knit one of these next time a friend decides to spawn.

Star Trek Junior by Sara Swärd, as seen on Ravelry

Posted in Clothing and Accessories, Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments »

I fall upon my knitting like a ravening beastie

May 16, 2013 by caityrosey

My life is so full of musts right now.

Must drag myself through thesis revisions.

Must get/keep myself in shape so the wedding dress fits

Must fix the air conditioner/vacuum/house wiring

Must clean the house after months of semi-neglect (all school related)

Must tend to the yard/eradicate dandelions

Must cajole fiancée into choosing a suit for the wedding

Must eat the spinach in the fridge before it goes bad

Must buy plane tickets

Must work at least 8 hours a day because losing this job would be a bad thing

I must do so many things right now. But there are no musts related to my knitting. Or spinning. So when I can’t pursue my musts a moment longer, I fall upon my fiber like a ravening beastie. Oh, sweet strands of twisted bliss! Take this ache out of my chest for just a little while.

Despite my level of stress and busy-ness, I still seem to be making lots of progress on my craft projects. Last night I looked at my Hitchhiker and realized that I was almost done. When did all that knitting happen? How did I miss it? It’s lost in a fibrous fever dream.

Posted in Knitting | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments »

An Experiment in My Knitting Technique

May 8, 2013 by caityrosey

I’ve always been an English style knitter. A thrower. And a rather clumsy one at that.

I learned to knit when I was eight. Mom showed be the ropes (pun intended), but after that I taught myself most of what I know. I knitted in the way that felt most natural to me, clutching the yarn firmly in the fingers of my right hand. And since then, I’ve never deviated from this technique.

When I knit, my whole hand moves, not just my fingers. It works, but it’s terribly inefficient. I’ve observed other knitters forming stitches with only slight flicks of their fingers. It looks so calm. So slick. So fast! I’ve decided that I want to teach myself to knit that way.

Now comes the hard part: overcoming more than twenty years of muscle memory.

I’ve decided to start this process by practicing my new technique  on a simple garter stitch project: The Hitchhiker shawlette. Over the next mile or so of yarn, I’m going to repeat this new technique thousands of times. Will that be enough to retrain my brain? Probably not. But it’s a good first step.

Wish me luck.

By the way, the above is my first knitting video. (*Yay*) After the 4KCBW blog week, I decided that one of my goals for the next year was going to be: getting comfortable with video blogging. There’s a lot of room for improvement, but I wanted to get over the first hurdle and simply GET A VIDEO OUT THERE, DARNIT.  Now that I’ve taken that first step, I feel much more confident about what I might be able to produce next time around.  

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Posted in Books, Clothing and Accessories, Knitting, Spinning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

Hand Spun Yarn Becomes Hitchhiker Shawlette

May 5, 2013 by caityrosey

Someday I’ll look back at the uneven yarns I plied when I first started spinning with such fondness. Fondness and despair.

I’ll never spin yarn with such character again!

My yarns are smooth and even.

When washed and dried, the hanks hang in perfect parabolas.

I try to over- or under-ply my singles, but my hands will not obey me.

Oh woe is me.

Yeah. Boo hoo.

There’s definitely room for improvement in the yarns I’m spinning right now. But I’m proud to report that I’m finding good uses for them anyway.

Here we have about 1200 yards of 2-ply. Spun from 2 4-oz braids of hand-dyed BFL from Frabjous Fibers in the Cathedral and Potash colorways.

Here we have about 1200 yards of 2-ply. Spun from 2 4-oz braids of hand-dyed BFL from Frabjous Fibers in the Cathedral and Potash colorways.

This BFL is a good example. I got a lot of yardage out of two 4-oz braids, but now I realize I should have plied them a bit tighter.

This yarn is a little bit uneven and not suited to just any project. It needs a pattern that will forgive and even celebrate its slight irregularities.  And it needs to be used for a garment that benefits from a bit of droopiness.

Hitchhiker to the rescue!

hitchhiker

I’m knitting this cute little shawlette as a gift for the friend who will be  photographing my wedding. She won’t accept money in payment, so I am making her something special instead. The rustic texture of my yarn seems to work well with this simple pattern.

I’m only going to use up a few hanks of this batch of hand spun in the making of this hitchhiker. But I’m enjoying the process so much and liking the results so well that I may knit up one or two more. It seems like the ideal gift to keep on hand. Plus, it’s a wonderful travel project.

Posted in Clothing and Accessories, Knitting, Spinning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments »

Hand Spun Yarn: Most of the Time, I Slap It

April 30, 2013 by caityrosey

Suzy Sells Sea Shells recently blogged about the recent craze in thwacking hand spun yarns after they’ve been washed.

Now the trend is thwacking yarns. It is all over the place. Do you thwack? Why aren’t you thwacking? You aren’t finished unless you’ve washed and thwacked!

This thwacking concept reminded me irresistibly of this scene from Some Like It Hot. Fast forward to the following time mark: 1:24.

Most of the time, I slap it!

Posted in Clothing and Accessories, Knitting, Spinning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

4KCBWDAY7- Stuffing Every Nook And Cranny with Fiber

April 28, 2013 by caityrosey

Today is the last day of Knit Crochet Blog Week, hosted by Eskimimimakes blog.  The topic of the day is Looking Forward–where do I hope my crafting will take me in the next year?

houses1

Overall goal: I want to find ways to stuff fiber into every nook and cranny of my life. Almost nothing makes me happier.

Specific goals:

1) I’d like to tackle color work, preferably with a  Fair Isle pattern.

I just love this Fair Isle sleeveless hoody on the cover of Fearless Fair Isle Knitting. It seems irreverent somehow, as if Fair Isle is “supposed” to be used a certain way, and this pattern is thumbing its nose at those notions. I’m a sucker for irreverent patterns. 

The cover of Fearless Fair Isle Knitting.

2) I’d like to knit something with this lovely red Blackwater Abbey yarn my mother gave me. It’s gorgeous, crunchy wool that screams to be knit into something with intricate cables.

I keep returning to a few  patterns over and over.

Plaits and Links Cardigan by Kathy Zimmerman as seen on Ravelry

134-55 “Chocolate Passion” – Jacket with cables in Alaska by DROPS design as seen on Ravelry

Hawthorne Vest by Marilyn King as seen on Raverly

3) I’d like to knit more projects with my hand spun.  I keep a special drawer in my yarn storage area just for the products of my hand spinning. If I don’t do something in the next few months, that drawer is going to erupt like Mount Vesuvius. If my obituary says something about death by smothering, you’ll know why.

Side note: I was working on this post yesterday and very nearly posted something extremely grouchy. Don’t blog while grouchy. It’s like drunk goggles, if the goggles were  lined with scratchy, itchy wool. Nothing good can come of it. Plus, everyone will know you’re grouchy and that will make you even grouchier. 

Posted in Clothing and Accessories, Competition, Knitting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments »

4KCBWDAY6: Wheel of Yarnfinity, Turn, Turn Turn

April 27, 2013 by caityrosey

I’m participating in the fourth annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week hosted by Eskimimimakes blog. 

Today is day six and the theme of the day is: A Tool To Covet. The task is to write about my favorite crafting tool.

I have a lot of crafting tools I really love. I love my Addi-clicks interchangeables. I love my light-as feather place markers, perfect for delicate lace knitting. And I love the cute little black embroidery scissors my mother gave me when I was teenager: somehow, after all these years, I’ve managed not to lose them (it’s a miracle).

These things are all wonderful, but the true apple of my eye these days is a magical wheely-bopper.

It’s a truly special tool that enables me to spin as much as I want on my trusty Lendrum, and then free up my bobbins for more spinning without having to make troublesome decisions about what to ply with what. I’m talking, of course, about my splendiforous Schacht bobbin winder.

winder2

The wheel of yarnfinity, which enables me to spin almost without ceasing.

Just yesterday, I finished spinning 8 oz of this lovely variegated green BFL/silk from Sweet Georgia. Yummy.

Green wheel2

But I wasn’t quite ready to commit to the next step. I had two bobbins full. Do I want to just ply them together off the bobbins? Do I want to split the yarn up into four equal amounts and make a four ply? Do I want to hold onto these until I feel brave enough to try chain plying? Agh! Who can decide?

Bobbin winder to the rescue!

white bobbins

I grabbed a few of the plain plastic storage bobbins (They come in large packs of about 20!).  I just realized I’m almost out. Already. Gack!

winding2

Then I set the bobbin winder up on the desk, impaled a plastic bobbin on the winder, and commenced a-windin’.

green on bobbins2

In no time at all I had spun two very full plastic bobbins. Oooh, they’re so pretty. And my wooden bobbins were stripped and ready for wheel spinning again. Joy!

By the way, I have a runner-up favorite that I just can’t resist sharing. I took some glamour shots this morning and now I can’t get this sexy little thing off my mind.

I’m proud to present: Purple Heartwood Golding Spindle. She spins like a dream.

golding 1

Golding 2

Posted in Clothing and Accessories, Competition, Knitting, Spinning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments »

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