knit equals joy

Yes, I am still working on the Colorwork Tee!

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Carol

As you can see from the above picture, I am on my third go-round with the Colorwork Tee. You can read about the first two swatches here: What I Learned from the Swatch and here: Colorwork Tee Progress.

The tee now has a rolled neckline. The plan is to offer options to leave this neckline or to pick up and knit either a corrugated ribbed neckline or a regular ribbed neckline. Stitch counts and charts are looking good and I am champing at the bit to get back to knitting this!

It seems to me that I should be further along by now. But sometimes other things move up the priority chain and have to be finished first. Here are some of the other items:

I am teaching a basic sock class at Tangled Purls, our local yarn shop. The sock above is my shop/class sample. The Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 (20% Cashmere) yarn I used made knitting it up a joy. Then I was thrilled when I read the idea of making Kitchener kits for the knitters taking the class. It was great to provide a way to practice the Kitchener stitch on larger yarn and needles before tackling it on their socks.

Tomorrow is Part II of the class, so tonight I will finish this sample heel flap and heel shaping, using highly contrasting colors to highlight the sock construction. I always love blue and yellow together!!!

The pattern is Basic Sock by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. It’s a great pattern.

Basic Socks have been so much fun that next month it’s going to be Basic Christmas Stockings, pattern also by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. Last weekend was spent frantically knitting to finish the sample. Getting a good picture for the store’s newsletter was another story…but here we are and that can be put aside for awhile. I’ll make Kitchener kits for that class too…in Christmas colors, of course!!!

The Passport Mitts KAL continues in my Ravelry group, and I’m knitting along, as well. I’m working on a red pair, using Rowan Felted Tweed DK in the colorway Rage. I love love love this yarn! It is so light, yet warm, and the colorways are wonderful! Here is my progress as of the other morning:

The knitalong goes through November 15th, so there is plenty of time to join in. Did I mention that there were prizes? Lovely, yarny, prizes! And a knitting bag, too.

Finally, I started my Stroll Cardigan by Olive Knits, once again using the wonderful Rowan Felted Tweed DK. This colorway is Ginger. I finished 3 or 4 inches of it, but worked on it while watching football, and somehow got off on my raglan lines, so I frogged it. But I can’t wait to get back to it!!! (When? I don’t know!!!) I even found the perfect earrings to coordinate with the sweater.

I’d best get knitting now! Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope you have some time to knit – or to do something creative and beautiful!

Oregon, Pacific City, photography, Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: 60 Minutes in Pacific City

Posted on October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 by Carol

Photo Challenge, Salishan

Camera Lucida: Metal

Posted on October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 by Carol

As promised, my Camera Lucida entries are knitting-related in some way. This rusted remnant of days gone by stands beside the pathway to the Salishan Spit. It was on my second hike to the Spit, the photoshoot for the Salishan Cowl, that I took this photo. The water pump had caught my eye before, and I thought perhaps it would be an interesting way to style the cowl. None of the pictures of the water pump made it into the pattern or onto the Ravelry pattern page, but I still think the elegance of the line of the water pump juxtaposed with the rusting iron makes an interesting image, and I share it here as my entry in this week’s Camera Lucida photo challenge.

This week’s theme: Metal

a solid material which is typically hard, shiny, malleable, fusible, and ductile, with good electrical and thermal conductivity (e.g. iron, gold, silver, and aluminium, and alloys such as steel).

broken stone for use in road-making.

“the work also involves dealing with rock aggregates for potential use as suitable road metal”

This week I am brining you into a new world…a different way of looking at something that all of us have around but rarely would we consider it art…the use of metal. Take a look around you and find that simple and maybe insignificant, sometimes even dangerous piece of rust that brings to life emotions…a different spark in our eyes and a modern interpretation of rudimentary.

Show your unique view on this weeks’ theme, bring us your best art…might that be a bridge of locks that tell a story, the old barn door with nails sticking out, a sculpture covered by rust but full of character or your personalised DIY tool box …this week anything metal goes 🙂

#cameralucida

knitting, knitting patterns, Metolius River, Metolius River Mitts, Oregon

Metolius – the River and the Mitt

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Carol

This week my sisters and I took a short jaunt to the Metolius River. It is a stunning, beautiful river. We were surprised at the volume of water rushing by, and the fall colors were glorious. I can’t wait to go back sometime and explore the area more fully.

The surrounding area was quiet and peaceful. It would be a great place to knit! Not to mention fish, bike, hike, read…

I love how the sunlight filters through the water.

And these are the Metolius River Mitts:

They are so named as this colorway with its beautiful blues, greens, ginger, gold and browns made me think of sunlight filtering through water to the river rock below:

Finally, here they are worked in yet another colorway, Rusted. This picture was taken before the thumb was completed.

This pattern is one of my favorites because it looks great in a variety of sock yarns and works up quickly on size 5 needles. If you are looking for a pattern for a special skein of sock yarn, this could be it.

Thanks for joining me in this look at the Metolius – the river and the mitts!

photography, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Trees – Texture, Line, Form, Color

Posted on October 13, 2015October 13, 2015 by Carol

knitting, pattern, Ravelry, Uncategorized

Passport Mitts Revealed

Posted on October 8, 2015December 5, 2015 by Carol

Hi all! I hope you’ll take a moment to read this lovely post by Alex. She’s joined in the Passport Mitts knitalong on Ravelry and has already finished her first pair of mitts! The next pair is in an orange colorway, and I can’t wait to see how they turn out. Alex is a wonderful knitter and blogger; enjoy her post! 🙂 Thank you for the shout out, Alex!!!

alexand knits

The second FO I have to share today is my first pair of Passport Mitts! I’ve posted here before about this pattern and the designer, but I want to say a little more. Specifically, if you’re looking for an awesome and supportive group of people to “hang out” with on ravelry, please go check out the group at Carol E. Herman Designs. Carol (cehermanator) and many of the group members have been so welcoming to me that, even though I hadn’t yet knit any of her designs, I still felt comfortable just jumping in and chatting with people. There’s currently a KAL going on for the Passport Mitts. It’s the first time I’ve participated in one, and it’s been really fun so far! It just started a couple of days ago so there’s plenty of time to come join in if you’d like. There’s great chatting, camaraderie…

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inspiration, photography, purple, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Purple Hues

Posted on October 7, 2015October 7, 2015 by Carol

heel gusset — Basic Sock, pattern by Churchmouse Yarns & Teas – in Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20

design, In The Wind Yarns, inspiration, knitting, knitting patterns, Oregon, pattern, Salishan, The Creative Process, The Design Process, Uncategorized

Salishan Cowl: A Look into the Design Process

Posted on October 5, 2015January 31, 2016 by Carol

The Salishan Cowl is another pattern which lends itself to a look into the design process. In this case, it was a matter of being immersed in a place as well as spending time pondering the building blocks of knit design, the stitches.

The place:

I’ve lived in Oregon for 25 years now, and have known of the Salishan Spa & Golf Resort since shortly after we moved here. I’ve driven by it numerous times, but it wasn’t until last August that I finally stayed there.

When I arrived, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found that the grounds were quiet and peaceful. The room was spacious; there was a choice of restaurants and the food was delicious. The atmosphere was that of a mountain lodge even though the ocean was within walking distance.

This was to be one of my retreats at the beach, where I spend time knitting, resting, designing. I spent the first few days knitting, taking walks and puttering around. I threw a bunch of yarn (collected over the years) on a table, hoping that color combinations would jump out at me and inspire some designs:

The yarn led me down dead end paths. Perhaps they were dead end at the time and may yet lead to new designs. Time will tell.

As it turned out, though, the inspiration came from the place itself.

The resort is situated so that the lodge, restaurants and accommodations are on the east side of Highway 101. It’s about 1/4 mile walk from the rooms to the highway, which you cross to the golf course, spa and shops.

There’s even a lovely yarn shop in The Shops, In The Wind Yarns. It was new to me then, but now it’s a must-stop place whenever I go to the Coast. I love to visit and see all the new things they are working on and what new yarns they’re bringing in. There’s always something fun going on!

But I digress! At last I was going to explore the Salishan Spit, which I had always been curious about. Viewing across the Siletz Bay from Highway 101, there is a thin slice of land with houses on it. How does one get there? During my stay, I learned that The Spit is accessible by car only to residents of the gated community or to guests of the resort. Otherwise, it may be accessed by foot on a trail which begins next to the shops and golf course.

It’s a long hike to traverse the length of the spit. As I approached the end of the spit, I turned a corner and was shocked to discover that we had black (or dark gray) sand on an Oregon beach! It was one of those amazing moments when you find something completely unexpected. I had absolutely no idea we had a dark sand beach in Oregon.

You can see the dark sand over the light here:

And these organic shapes and lines:

It was all hauntingly beautiful.

The building blocks:

Also during my stay at Salishan, I spent time poring over my stitch dictionaries. One stitch in particular, the Japanese Feather, struck me as very beautiful and elegant. An added bonus: as far as lace stitches go, it’s pretty straightforward and easy. And it’s apparent to me that my subconscious zeroed in on that stitch pattern as a representation of all the lovely lines and shapes I had seen during my wanderings – even including that “S” in the Salishan signs.

The process and the pattern:

During the next six months, the impressions from Salishan and the thoughts of that stitch remained with me. Sometime in December of 2014 or early January 2015, I found the perfect edging for the cowl: the Herringbone Stitch. It would create a pleasing contrast of a highly structured edging with the organic shape of the Japanese Feather. Additionally, it was a stitch that wasn’t being used by a large number of designers, so it would create a unique look. And finally, it’s a fun stitch to work, albeit time consuming.

The pattern also includes the option of working a Seed Stitch border. It is easier and quicker than the Herringbone Stitch border, and it still creates an elegant look.

Worked in Malabrigo Silky Merino, this cowl just floats! It also is lovely in Rowan Felted Tweed.

Salishan in itw window — This luminous Salishan Cowl in the window at In The Wind Yarns was made by Janet

This design is really one of my favorites. Not only do I feel like a million bucks whenever I wear this cowl, but I have the treasured memory of finding this beautiful and unexpected, somewhat hard-to-reach beach, which I hope to visit many, many more times in the future.

Oregon, photography, Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Stonework

Posted on September 30, 2015October 3, 2015 by Carol

inspiration, knitting, photography, The Creative Process, The Design Process, Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Why It Belongs in a Knitting Blog

Posted on September 28, 2015January 31, 2016 by Carol

When I first started the Wordless Wednesday feature, my main goal was to have a weekly feature and to be able to share my love of photography. However, as time has passed, I see that the photos and themes I choose definitely tie in with my knitting and designing, more significantly with the latter.

The first installment, Wordless Wednesday – Well, Nearly…, was mainly an introduction to the feature and, perhaps, to me.

Three of the Wordless Wednesday stories deal with a huge inspiration for me: color. Color for me is visceral; beautiful color, whether a single hue or several in combination, elevates. Wordless Wednesday: Monochrome, Wordless Wednesday: Multi (1) (because I fully expect there to be further “Multi” stories), and Wordless Wednesday: Green. These beautiful colors inspire my knitting and my design ethic.

Salmon River, Oregon — This golden color may very well be my favorite…

Hood River Cowl — …as evidenced by my use of it in many projects and designs.

Wordless Wednesday: Texture (Beach), Wordless Wednesday: Water, and even Wordless Wednesday: World’s Smallest Harbor explore texture and light, which always, always inform my designs.

I discovered this beach, Gleneden Beach, which is on the Salishan Spit, the year before the Salishan Cowl pattern was written. I was so shocked and delighted to discover that we had a black sand (or dark sand, at any rate) beach in Oregon. How could I have lived here for over twenty years and not have known we had such a beach?!? The wind- and surf-made texture in the sand was a direct inspiration for this cowl.

Wordless Wednesday: Faves and Wordless Wednesday: Colorwork are about beautiful things that are inspiring to me. I love how these two disparate photos contain nearly the same colors:

Wordless Wednesday: What They’re Looking At ponders point of view. The subjects of these photos are intently looking at something, thinking about it and taking it in. The practice of taking the time to examine something in depth often leads to design inspiration, at least for me.

This week’s post will be Wordless Wednesday: Stonework. Recently we visited the grounds of the Historic Columbia Gorge Hotel and Silver Falls State Park, both of which feature some beautiful stonework. I was taken with the beautiful warm colors within the stonework and the play of light on the surface of the stones. One of my favorite photos is of a stonework drinking fountain (!). I love that a basic, everyday object was made into a beautiful work of art…and that’s what I attempt to do with my knitwear designs.

Wordless Wednesdays serve to share stories with you about what I’m seeing and thinking about, and they serve to keep me rooted in the images – the colors, textures, emotions and impressions – that inspire me.

Thanks for checking in and taking the time to visit!!