Mass TransKnit

Since knitting on public transportation is sort of how I got started on this journey, I figured I should talk about it a little more.

So far, I've found that the best thing to knit, especially on a crowded train ride home, is socks. Because I can use short, circular needles, which means there's no awkwardness with whomever may be sitting next to me. And most sock patterns are generally turn into a mindless repetition soon enough, meaning I don't have to fully engage. Lately, I've been knitting this guy:


The sock is super thick, incidentally. And the little dude from Nightmare Before Christmas clearly approves, as you can see.

I finished that sock last night. However, I was running late this morning, and didn't have time to grab the second ball for the second sock. So, on the way home, I had to settle for my project du jour, which is my diagonal striped scarf.


It's going to have to be much longer, obviously.

The problem with that scarf, for public transit purposes, is that the needles are 13" long. This generally requires more of a wingspan than one can usually score on a rush hour train downtown. I have managed to convert my knitting in such a way that I can usually avoid disrupting my seatmate, but all the same, I think I'd prefer socks on shorter needles.

Unless I someday manage to have a cute guy sitting next to me. Then I might have to rethink my strategy...and hope he's amenable to being disrupted by silk-wool yarn blends.

My Fair Isle

There is a technique in knitting called Fair Isle. To state it as plainly as possible, the Fair Isle technique is one that allows those really vivid snowflake patterns and the like. For knitters inexperienced with Fair Isle (such as myself), just the mention of the term brings on a nightmarish image rather like this:


This is a quintessential Fair Isle sweater.

Personally, I've never felt compelled to learn this technique. I keep it rather basic with my colors...stripes are good enough for me, and self-striping yarns make me squeal in delight. Or would, but I'm not actually a squealer.

Then came new Mason-Dixon book, Knitting Outside the Lines. When my Local Yarn Shop (LYS), Loopy Yarns, had their Grand Reopening at their new location earlier this month, co-author Ann Shayne was there, signing copies of the book and showing off some knitted wares, the patterns for which were in the book. I don't generally buy knitting books, and a book signing has never been something to entice me.

I glanced over at the signing table while mingling with people and fondling various yarns (never the other way around), and my eye was caught. I made my way to the table, touched a knitted throw, and said, with a slight tremor in my voice, "Is this Silk Garden?"

NORO!

Yes, indeed, it was some of my beloved yarn brand, Noro. In this case, a worsted-weight silk/wool blend, done up in a fun and whimsical throw.

I left with a signed copy of the book, and started reading about the pattern on the way home.

The damn thing is done using Fair Isle.

Because my passion for selected projects rarely takes my skills and ability into account, this means that I'm going to have to learn Fair Isle. This will be a process. A process that no doubt will be followed in this blog.

The first step will be working on my stitches in general. I have an extremely tight gauge. In order for Fair Isle to work, as I understand it, I need to relax to something roughly resembling a "normal" gauge. This is because a certain amount of "stranding" is involved. To illustrate, go to your closet and pull out a fair isle sweater (we all have one, whether we admit it or not). Turn it inside out. Chances are, you will see that there are strands of the various colors of yarn going horizontally along the sections where actual designs appear on the front. My knitting is generally too tight for something like that to be successful, meaning I would have an impressively warped project.

I have resigned myself to the fact that, in order to achieve a more relaxed gauge, I'm going to have to knit a lace pattern. I don't knit lace patterns, because they are almost all way too girly for me. However, it's something that would require a normal-to-relaxed gauge in order to turn out well.

Ick.

There is an afghan I like, however, that requires some light lacing, and might be a go. I already have the yarn, so I have to decide if I'm ready to cast on and start something that large, when there are so many socks and hats in the world needing knitting, but it might be the way to go. The good news is that because I do not have the yarn for this fair isle project, nor currently the funds to buy it, I have time on my side.

I will keep you posted.

The Sweater

Ah yes, the sweater. Franklin finally sent the photos he took of me in the sweater.



It's a long sweater.


And I don't care for my face in either photo. Hence the photo-altering to give myself an alarmingly sunny disposition.

Now, the sweater has gotten a LOT of attention, and has received a lot of praise. But there has been some fun poked. One of my co-singers in the Chicago Chamber Choir asked if it was a knitted smoking jacket. Apparently, this is smoking jacket length. Regardless, I don't know what would possess someone to knit a smoking jacket. That just somehow doesn't seem appropriate. Nonetheless, he called me "Hef" for the rest of that rehearsal.

But I've got a freakin' awesome sweater, and he doesn't.

For the record, this took 11 skeins of Noro Iro. And five rockin' buttons.

Street Cred

Clearly, it is necessary for a yarn blog to have photos. Right. What good is a knitting blog if I can neither show off some of my stuff, or at least prove that I do, indeed, knit.


Socks are a favorite of mine. Even with my big, honkin' man-feet.

One observation I have is that an amazing majority of sock patterns show something roughly like what you see here. Someone, using only one leg, standing on her toes (it's almost never a man, and when it is a man, he certainly isn't standing on his toes), showing off the sock. I've got to tell you, it wasn't easy holding the pose long enough to take the photo.

Yes, I'm flat-footed. And yes, I have swept the floor since taking that photo.

The yarn I used made it's own stripes. The yarn band was in German, however, and before I could take the time to decipher it, it got on the wrong side of my cat. Oops. I can tell you that it's very similar to Regia sock yarn.

Of course, not everything I've knit has been a good idea...


This was a nosewarmer that I knit a few years back. I met a friend for coffee, and he was so horrified that he took this picture. Most people who have seen the picture have inquired about the beak. Not in the "I'm interested" way, but in the "I know I shouldn't wonder, but there is a certain morbid fascination here."

The yarn was scrap yarn.

Hats are always good. I can always get behind a hat that has some cabling challenges to it.

I honestly don't remember what yarn I used for this hat.

Continuing with hats, babies are AWESOME. They have tiny little heads, and won't bitch if they don't like the color.


Though I am forced to concede that this child looks a bit perturbed, I choose to think it's a general frustration with the world in general, as opposed to his headware. The hat was a basic stockinette deal done up in Sugar 'n' Cream. An inexpensive cotton yarn that's pretty much perfect for small humans.

Then, there is what is probably my greatest yarn achievement to date. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Lizard Ridge.

This is an afghan that used up 20 skeins of Noro Kureyon, and I only wish I had a better picture to share. I'll see what I can do about that. I am working on a second Lizard Ridge, and have enough Kureyon to venture into a third, if I so chose.

I also recently finished my first sweater, done up in Noro Iro. My attempts to photograph it were largely unsuccessful. However, Franklin has photographed it, and I'm sure he'll send the photos to me as soon as he remembers...

I have, of course, knit many other items, but these are the ones I've managed to photograph.

My Tenets of Knitting

Kinda like tenets of faith, except it's nothing like that at all.

Basically, I think it would be prudent for me to tell you folks about me as a knitter, so if reading my blog turns out to be a disappointment for you, it's your own damn fault.

1) Knitting is a hobby for me. It does not pay my bills, and it fulfills no known life requirements. Therefore, I am rarely in a compelling situation to finish a given project, except for my own personal satisfaction.

2) I am fickle knitter. While I have never permanently quit a project, I do tend to start projects whenever the mood strikes me, without giving much thought to other works-in-progress waiting for my attention. Basically, I knit whatever I please, whenever I please.

3) I am not seeking to make any sort of living as a knitter. I am not Franklin (who, by the way, is fabulous) or Jared (who I would love to meet one day). I do not intend to write books, create drawings, or design patterns. While that could change, and I might one day write a book or design a pattern, my yarny goodness will never be my day job.

4) For all of the above reasons, I am generally loathe to agree to knit something for someone.

5) I tend to buy yarn that is moderate-to-expensive in price. I'm a MAJOR fan of all Noro yarns, and also love using Hacho by Mirasol for socks. I do not care for Lambs Pride, as I find it quite itchy. I do not knit with acrylic. Not even as a joke.

6) I usually buy my yarn locally. This is for two reasons. First, I get to feel that whole I'm-supporting-local-business vibe. Second, and more importantly, I have had the unfortunate experience of ordering yarn online, only to discover that the yarn or color wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. I only by yarn online if I already know the yarn and the colorway (e.g. Noro Kureyon Color 182), and it's a deal that can't be resisted. My LYS (Local Yarn Shop) of choice is Loopy Yarns.

I think that's it, but then, I am a fickle knitter (see #2), so I reserve the right to add or subtract from this list as I see fit.

In The Beginning

So, it all started on September 30, 2008. As I was knitting during my commute home, a fellow knitter and I caught each other's notice. When the person sitting next to her got off the train, I sat next to her. And she asked me, "Are you Uvon?"

This was a surprise.

However, I affirmed that I was indeed known in certain circles as Uvon. Because that happens to be my name, and some people call me by my name. She went on to explain that someone had posted a photo of me knitting on a weblog, and I was being discussed on Ravelry.

So, when I got home, I checked, and indeed I was being discussed. The blog in question had posted a photo of my that very day, and already the Chicago knitting community was talking about it, and had determined it was me. All I could do was verify that they were right.

It occurred to me then that, if I was going to be that recognizable, I had an obligation to create an internet presence for my knitting self. So, I started planning the yarn blog. But, there was trouble...

The very next day, my internet connection at home went down. After a very frustrating two weeks of complaining to my building manager, the internet was restored. This actually turned out to be a fairly good thing for this blog, because I hadn't come up with a good name yet.

The day after the infamous blog post, I shared with my coworkers, most of whom have resigned themselves to my knitting, and still occasionally eye it as something rather novel. They were, of course, either fascinated or polite enough to appear fascinated, and that was mostly the end of it.

One would have expected that to be the end of it. However, most of my stories are like Stanley Kubrick films - they never end quite when you expect them to.

Earlier this week, with the home internet still down, one of my co-workers happened to mention the blog with me knitting. She shared this with a friend of hers, and the friend said, "You mean that knitting guy?!" She reads that blog, and she remembered that post.

And with that, I realized that I had a title for my blog...That Knitting Guy.