Cleverknits is a collaboration between Helena and Andrea, good friends, good knitters, and good people. We met in the sixth grade when Helena cut over 18 inches from her hair, and subsequently Andrea remarked upon the drastic nature of the cut. Since that day, we have been very best friends. In high school, people often assumed we were sisters (though that may have had something to do with the fact that Helena called Andrea's dad "Dad" and Andrea called Helena's mom "Mom"). Interestingly, we learned to knit completely independently of one another at the exact same time. At the time, we were living in different cities, and neither of us had any knowledge that the other was picking up this wonderful hobby until months later. Needless to say, this only strengthened the bond of our friendship.
Helena: I'm a self-taught knitter, which means I probably do everything the wrong way. Oh how I wish that 'wrong way' included knitting continental style, but I'm not quite there yet. My mother taught me to crochet when I was five or six years old, but in grad school I got this idea in my head that knitting was a far superior craft (at the time I was living with my mother, so that may have been a form of rebellion on my part). One night when I should have been writing a final paper, I stayed up all night figuring out garter stitch and finishing my very first knitted creations. The bad news is: I never actually finished graduate school (I am, as they say ABT, short for "all but thesis" -- I finished all the coursework, but I never actually wrote my thesis). I generally tell people that the not finishing grad school is because I was working full time and so work got in the way, but the real reason I never finished is because I became obsessed with knitting and would rather knit than write a thesis any day of the week. Knitting stuck, graduate school did not, and now I am a fanatic knitter without a master's degree.
Andrea: I learned to knit from my mother-in-law. I had just gotten married and was playing housewife for a few months. It didn't take too long for me to be bored out of my mind and learning to knit became my escape. I knit four scarves that first Christmas, then put my needles down. On a trip to San Anselmo, I wandered into a bookstore and found myself in the knitting section surrounded by pattern book with vision of sweater in my head. A quick trip to Joann's and I was hooked. Again. I haven't put the needles down since.
Our goal with this site is to share our knitting and what we've learned with the rest of the knitting community. We hope to build a mini-community here on this site, and encourage you all to comment, participate, share, befriend, and enjoy!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
About cleverknits
Cleverknits is a collaboration between Helena and Andrea, good friends, good knitters, and good people. We met in the sixth grade when Helena cut over 18 inches from her hair, and subsequently Andrea remarked upon the drastic nature of the cut. Since that day, we have been very best friends. In high school, people often assumed we were sisters (though that may have had something to do with the fact that Helena called Andrea's dad "Dad" and Andrea called Helena's mom "Mom"). Interestingly, we learned to knit completely independently of one another at the exact same time. At the time, we were living in different cities, and neither of us had any knowledge that the other was picking up this wonderful hobby until months later. Needless to say, this only strengthened the bond of our friendship.
Helena: I'm a self-taught knitter, which means I probably do everything the wrong way. Oh how I wish that 'wrong way' included knitting continental style, but I'm not quite there yet. My mother taught me to crochet when I was five or six years old, but in grad school I got this idea in my head that knitting was a far superior craft (at the time I was living with my mother, so that may have been a form of rebellion on my part). One night when I should have been writing a final paper, I stayed up all night figuring out garter stitch and finishing my very first knitted creations. The bad news is: I never actually finished graduate school (I am, as they say ABT, short for "all but thesis" -- I finished all the coursework, but I never actually wrote my thesis). I generally tell people that the not finishing grad school is because I was working full time and so work got in the way, but the real reason I never finished is because I became obsessed with knitting and would rather knit than write a thesis any day of the week. Knitting stuck, graduate school did not, and now I am a fanatic knitter without a master's degree.
Andrea: I learned to knit from my mother-in-law. I had just gotten married and was playing housewife for a few months. It didn't take too long for me to be bored out of my mind and learning to knit became my escape. I knit four scarves that first Christmas, then put my needles down. On a trip to San Anselmo, I wandered into a bookstore and found myself in the knitting section surrounded by pattern book with vision of sweater in my head. A quick trip to Joann's and I was hooked. Again. I haven't put the needles down since.
Our goal with this site is to share our knitting and what we've learned with the rest of the knitting community. We hope to build a mini-community here on this site, and encourage you all to comment, participate, share, befriend, and enjoy!
Helena: I'm a self-taught knitter, which means I probably do everything the wrong way. Oh how I wish that 'wrong way' included knitting continental style, but I'm not quite there yet. My mother taught me to crochet when I was five or six years old, but in grad school I got this idea in my head that knitting was a far superior craft (at the time I was living with my mother, so that may have been a form of rebellion on my part). One night when I should have been writing a final paper, I stayed up all night figuring out garter stitch and finishing my very first knitted creations. The bad news is: I never actually finished graduate school (I am, as they say ABT, short for "all but thesis" -- I finished all the coursework, but I never actually wrote my thesis). I generally tell people that the not finishing grad school is because I was working full time and so work got in the way, but the real reason I never finished is because I became obsessed with knitting and would rather knit than write a thesis any day of the week. Knitting stuck, graduate school did not, and now I am a fanatic knitter without a master's degree.
Andrea: I learned to knit from my mother-in-law. I had just gotten married and was playing housewife for a few months. It didn't take too long for me to be bored out of my mind and learning to knit became my escape. I knit four scarves that first Christmas, then put my needles down. On a trip to San Anselmo, I wandered into a bookstore and found myself in the knitting section surrounded by pattern book with vision of sweater in my head. A quick trip to Joann's and I was hooked. Again. I haven't put the needles down since.
Our goal with this site is to share our knitting and what we've learned with the rest of the knitting community. We hope to build a mini-community here on this site, and encourage you all to comment, participate, share, befriend, and enjoy!
About cleverknits
Cleverknits is a collaboration between Helena and Andrea, good friends, good knitters, and good people. We met in the sixth grade when Helena cut over 18 inches from her hair, and subsequently Andrea remarked upon the drastic nature of the cut. Since that day, we have been very best friends. In high school, people often assumed we were sisters (though that may have had something to do with the fact that Helena called Andrea's dad "Dad" and Andrea called Helena's mom "Mom"). Interestingly, we learned to knit completely independently of one another at the exact same time. At the time, we were living in different cities, and neither of us had any knowledge that the other was picking up this wonderful hobby until months later. Needless to say, this only strengthened the bond of our friendship.
Helena: I'm a self-taught knitter, which means I probably do everything the wrong way. Oh how I wish that 'wrong way' included knitting continental style, but I'm not quite there yet. My mother taught me to crochet when I was five or six years old, but in grad school I got this idea in my head that knitting was a far superior craft (at the time I was living with my mother, so that may have been a form of rebellion on my part). One night when I should have been writing a final paper, I stayed up all night figuring out garter stitch and finishing my very first knitted creations. The bad news is: I never actually finished graduate school (I am, as they say ABT, short for "all but thesis" -- I finished all the coursework, but I never actually wrote my thesis). I generally tell people that the not finishing grad school is because I was working full time and so work got in the way, but the real reason I never finished is because I became obsessed with knitting and would rather knit than write a thesis any day of the week. Knitting stuck, graduate school did not, and now I am a fanatic knitter without a master's degree.
Andrea: I learned to knit from my mother-in-law. I had just gotten married and was playing housewife for a few months. It didn't take too long for me to be bored out of my mind and learning to knit became my escape. I knit four scarves that first Christmas, then put my needles down. On a trip to San Anselmo, I wandered into a bookstore and found myself in the knitting section surrounded by pattern book with vision of sweater in my head. A quick trip to Joann's and I was hooked. Again. I haven't put the needles down since.
Our goal with this site is to share our knitting and what we've learned with the rest of the knitting community. We hope to build a mini-community here on this site, and encourage you all to comment, participate, share, befriend, and enjoy!
Helena: I'm a self-taught knitter, which means I probably do everything the wrong way. Oh how I wish that 'wrong way' included knitting continental style, but I'm not quite there yet. My mother taught me to crochet when I was five or six years old, but in grad school I got this idea in my head that knitting was a far superior craft (at the time I was living with my mother, so that may have been a form of rebellion on my part). One night when I should have been writing a final paper, I stayed up all night figuring out garter stitch and finishing my very first knitted creations. The bad news is: I never actually finished graduate school (I am, as they say ABT, short for "all but thesis" -- I finished all the coursework, but I never actually wrote my thesis). I generally tell people that the not finishing grad school is because I was working full time and so work got in the way, but the real reason I never finished is because I became obsessed with knitting and would rather knit than write a thesis any day of the week. Knitting stuck, graduate school did not, and now I am a fanatic knitter without a master's degree.
Andrea: I learned to knit from my mother-in-law. I had just gotten married and was playing housewife for a few months. It didn't take too long for me to be bored out of my mind and learning to knit became my escape. I knit four scarves that first Christmas, then put my needles down. On a trip to San Anselmo, I wandered into a bookstore and found myself in the knitting section surrounded by pattern book with vision of sweater in my head. A quick trip to Joann's and I was hooked. Again. I haven't put the needles down since.
Our goal with this site is to share our knitting and what we've learned with the rest of the knitting community. We hope to build a mini-community here on this site, and encourage you all to comment, participate, share, befriend, and enjoy!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
boo!
Just a quick stop to say that I am alive and I know I did not post last week, but I have a really good reason. I was frantically knitting my first comi$$ioned piece and I was supposed to deliver it today, but alas, that did not happen.
I know my knitting time is going to be drastically cut for the next 16 weeks, but I am working toward a goal eight years in the making. I should be there soon, as long as I don't let me off the hook like I did last time. Bad me.
In a transparent attempt to distract you: Look! Knitting!
This is the Rugby Sweater I knit for a co-worker's baby last September. Details here. (if you are a Raveler...)
I'll post pictures of my comi$$ioned piece as soon as it is finished and has sat for its portrait.
I know my knitting time is going to be drastically cut for the next 16 weeks, but I am working toward a goal eight years in the making. I should be there soon, as long as I don't let me off the hook like I did last time. Bad me.
In a transparent attempt to distract you: Look! Knitting!
This is the Rugby Sweater I knit for a co-worker's baby last September. Details here. (if you are a Raveler...)
I'll post pictures of my comi$$ioned piece as soon as it is finished and has sat for its portrait.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Goals for 2008
I hate New Year's Resolutions. They are such a trite way to identify areas in your life that may be lacking and failing to live up to them only leads to feelings of guilt and inadequacies. I refuse to participate in mainstream guilt trips, so...
Goals for 2008:
~ Blog once a week.
~ Knit from my stash.
~ Prevent squalor from taking over.
Three is enough. Anymore than that and I will get overwhelmed and stop doing everything.
Time for knitting!!!
This past year, I decided to knit for Christmas for my family. I knit anyways and I knew I would save all kinds of money by buying the yarn early. It worked out almost perfectly. Don't worry, everything was finished in time to be wrapped, but those last few days were hell.
Dad: Scarf
Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight in Copper, held doubled throughout.
Sister Sets:
Both of my si
sters requested hats and I also made them fingerless gloves with the left over yarn.
Danielle's Hat and Mitts
Hat: Basketweave Hat by Vermont Fiber Company
Mitts: Adaptation of Garter Stitch Cuff Fingerless Gloves from Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Zara by Filatura di Crosa, 3 skeins
Autumn's Hat and Mitts
Hat: Coronet from Knitty
Mitts: Adaptation of Garter Stitch Cuff Fingerless Gloves from Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Zara by Filatura di Crosa, 3 skeins
Ed's Hat and Scarf:
My brother-in-law wanted a scarf to go with his black leather jacket. I had enough yarn left to make him a hat too.
Yarn: Encore by Plymouth Yarn
Scarf: 2x2 ribbing
Hat: my own creation
Mom's Shawl:
My mom requested a lace pashmina type shawl to keep her warm. This was the piece that gave me the most trouble. Not that is was a hard knit, but it was just so boring and the color stared to drive me crazy!!! The yarn was excellent, KnitPicks Andean Treasure in Lilac Heather, soft and supple and warm. Mom loves purple and as much as I enjoyed the feel of this yarn, by the end of the second skein all I could see was grape jelly. Ick. The pattern was Lace 1,2,3: Andean Treasure Shawl, a simple Feather and Fan lace stitch that went on forever. My problems stemmed from the difficulties I was having with the needles. I started out with an Addi Lace Circular, thinking the tapers of the point would help with all the k2tog's, unfortunately, trying to knit back was proving difficult because the yo's would NOT slide past the join. I tried another cricular, this one a Clover Takumi Bamboo, same problem. I finally bought 14" birch straight needles and was finally able to move faster. By Dec. 22, I was only 1/4 done with it, but at least this was the last piece. I spent the next 48 hours knitting non-stop. The few breaks I took, my MIL stepped in and worked on it. The only time it wasn't being knitted, was when we were both eating or sleeping. It was finished and blocking at 2 am Christmas morning, wrapped by 9 am and opened at 1 pm. She loved it, but there wasn't time for a picture. I'll get one the next time I see her.
This year- I'm knitting clogs to felt. I should be done by June.
Goals for 2008:
~ Blog once a week.
~ Knit from my stash.
~ Prevent squalor from taking over.
Three is enough. Anymore than that and I will get overwhelmed and stop doing everything.
Time for knitting!!!
This past year, I decided to knit for Christmas for my family. I knit anyways and I knew I would save all kinds of money by buying the yarn early. It worked out almost perfectly. Don't worry, everything was finished in time to be wrapped, but those last few days were hell.
Dad: Scarf
Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight in Copper, held doubled throughout.
Sister Sets:
Both of my si
sters requested hats and I also made them fingerless gloves with the left over yarn.Danielle's Hat and Mitts
Hat: Basketweave Hat by Vermont Fiber Company
Mitts: Adaptation of Garter Stitch Cuff Fingerless Gloves from Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Zara by Filatura di Crosa, 3 skeins
Autumn's Hat and Mitts
Hat: Coronet from Knitty
Mitts: Adaptation of Garter Stitch Cuff Fingerless Gloves from Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Zara by Filatura di Crosa, 3 skeins
Ed's Hat and Scarf:My brother-in-law wanted a scarf to go with his black leather jacket. I had enough yarn left to make him a hat too.
Yarn: Encore by Plymouth Yarn
Scarf: 2x2 ribbing
Hat: my own creation
Mom's Shawl:
My mom requested a lace pashmina type shawl to keep her warm. This was the piece that gave me the most trouble. Not that is was a hard knit, but it was just so boring and the color stared to drive me crazy!!! The yarn was excellent, KnitPicks Andean Treasure in Lilac Heather, soft and supple and warm. Mom loves purple and as much as I enjoyed the feel of this yarn, by the end of the second skein all I could see was grape jelly. Ick. The pattern was Lace 1,2,3: Andean Treasure Shawl, a simple Feather and Fan lace stitch that went on forever. My problems stemmed from the difficulties I was having with the needles. I started out with an Addi Lace Circular, thinking the tapers of the point would help with all the k2tog's, unfortunately, trying to knit back was proving difficult because the yo's would NOT slide past the join. I tried another cricular, this one a Clover Takumi Bamboo, same problem. I finally bought 14" birch straight needles and was finally able to move faster. By Dec. 22, I was only 1/4 done with it, but at least this was the last piece. I spent the next 48 hours knitting non-stop. The few breaks I took, my MIL stepped in and worked on it. The only time it wasn't being knitted, was when we were both eating or sleeping. It was finished and blocking at 2 am Christmas morning, wrapped by 9 am and opened at 1 pm. She loved it, but there wasn't time for a picture. I'll get one the next time I see her.
This year- I'm knitting clogs to felt. I should be done by June.
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