I'm in Salt Lake City for a few days, doing a small training/consulting thing for JBoss. It's been great to get the chance to see friends and family while I'm here, and tonight I went to Uncle John and Aunt Andrea's house to catch up and visit. Their grandson Keven was there for the evening. I'm always suprised every time I see him and his sister Abby, they grow so much. Its funny... I'm sure people said the same about me and Di when we were growing up... it always cracks me up how life is so cyclical.

We all got to talking and the conversation drifted to knitting (me? talk about knitting? shocker, I know). So I ran out to the car and grabbed my latest projects (my chunky green hat and my little blue rosehip hat) to show Aunt Andrea and Keven. He looked great in the hat. They talked about Keven's mom Erin was learning to knit, and Keven was very interested to learn how to do it. He's 10. And BY FAR the fastest student I've ever had. I slowly showed him the knit stitch about 3 or 4 times -- and boom he was knitting. He picked up casting on just as fast. I am so impressed.

Keven was also having fun playing with my new phone. So he wrote me a few notes and a couple sketches. Unfortunately the sketches didn't transfer very well, but he did provide a great title for my blog: "Squirrels like to nit!!" and "Mr. Squirrel likes penuts!!$1 per nut." and "I like to nit.I like to nit. I like to nit." He's very cool.

I started the hat on my flight from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City. I frogged it a few times after casting on too few stitches the first time and too many stitches the next. Third time's the charm. The inspiration for this hat was to create a cute simple hat out of this chunky yarn so Diana could follow the pattern and knit a hat for Jamie. Hopefully this hat fits the bill.

• the materials:
• 1 ball Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky yarn in "grass"
• 11" circular needle, size 10 1/2 (I'm not *sure* on the length of the needle, but basically the needle should fit around your head -- from needle tip to needle tip)
• one set size 10 1/2 double pointed needles
• the pattern
• Loosely cast on 72 stitches
• Place stitch marker, join work in the round, be careful not to twist the work (or else you'll create a mobius strip... which looks cool, but doesn't make a very good hat)
• begin rib stitch: k2, p2 across. Repeat this row until piece measures 5 inches
• begin decrease (transfer to double pointed needles when needed):
  round N: * k2tog, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2tog, k2, p2, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 10 stitches, k2tog, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2tog
• round N+1: * k, p2, k2, p2, k2, p, k2, p2, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 9 stitches, k, p2, k2, p2, k2, p
• round N+2: * k2tog, p, k2, p2, k2, p2tog, k, p2, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 9 stitches, k, p2, k2, p2, k2
• round N+3: * k, p, k2, p2, k2, p, k, p2, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 8 stitches, k, p, k2, p2, k2
• round N+4: * k2tog, k2, p2, k2, p2tog, p2, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 8 stitches, k2tog, k2, p2, k2
• round N+5: * k3, p2, k2, p3, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 7 stitches, k3, p2, k2
• round N+6: * k2tog, k, p2, k2, p2tog, p, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 7 stitches, k2tog, k, p2, k2
• round N+7: * k2, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 6 stitches, k2, p2, k2
• round N+8: * k2tog, p2, k2, p2tog, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 6 stitches, k2tog, p2, k2
• round N+9: * k, p2, k2, p, k2, p2, repeat from * til last 5 stitches, k, p2, k2
• round N+10: * k2tog, p, k2, p2tog, k, p2, repeat from * til last 5 stitches, k2tog, p, k2
• round N+11: * k2tog, k2, p2tog, p2, repeat from * til last 4 stitches, k2tog, k2,
• round N+12: * k2tog, k, p2tog, p, repeat from * til last 3 stitches, k2tog, k
• round N+13: * k2tog, p2tog, * repeat from * til last 2 sttiches, k2tog
• cut yarn, leaving a 10 inch tail. Thread tail through the remaining stitches with a crochet hook and tie off. Weave in ends.

Responses[6]

Posted by Jessica on April 26, 2006 2:00:52 AM EDT #

So... I couldn't resist making something with one of those cool stitch patterns I got out of my new book purchase. I really liked the "rosehip" stitch. It's quick to knit, and very delicate looking. So this turned out to be a good project while we drove to and from Vermont this last weekend. I actually had to make the hat twice. The first one got frogged (I un-did it) because it was too wide and too short. The second one is just about right.

To create the hat, I had to convert the flat stitch pattern into one that could be knit in the round. I hate doing all the finishing work on a project (sewing seams, weaving in the ends, etc) so knitting hats in the round help to eliminate all the finishing work. Plus its neat to make something and know that its one continuous piece of yarn.

This hat is knit in the round. I'd consider this an intermediate project. You need to be compfortable with knitting on circular needles, knitting on double pointed needles, following a pattern, knitting, purling, doing a purlwise slip stitch, and decreasing.

• The materials
  Use a non-fuzzy yarn so that you can see the stitch detail more clearly.
  • 1 ball Bernat CottonTots in "Little Boy Blue"
  • size 7, 13" circular needle (need to make sure this is the right width
  • four size 7 double pointed needles
  • stitch marker (I just use a piece of yarn tied in a loop in a contrasting color)
• The abbreviations
  • k - knit
  • p - purl
  • sl - slip stitch
  • purlwise - insert the needle as if to purl (from the back of the stitch to the front
  • k2tog - knit two stitches together
  • yf - bring the yarn to the front before performing the next instruction
  • yb - bring the yarn to the back before performing the next instruction
• The pattern
  • cast on 87 stitches onto the circular needle (to increase or decrease hat size, add or subtact 8 stitches)
  • round 1: place stitch marker, k to end
  • round 2: (begin rosehip pattern) k3, *sl purlwise, k3, repeat from *
  • round 3: p3, *yb, sl purlwise, yf, p3, repeat from *
  • round 4: k1, *sl purlwise, k3, repeat from * until last stitch, k1
  • round 5: p1, *yb, sl purlwise, yf, p3, repeat from * until last stitch, p1
  • round 6 - N: repeat rounds 2-5 until hat measures about 5 inches, ending with round 3.
  • round N+1: (begin decrease % -- switch to double pointed needles when necessary) *k, sl purlwise, k3, sl purlwise, k2tog, repeat from *
  • round N+2: *p, yb, sl purlwise, yf, p3, yb, sl purlwise, yf, p2, repeat from *
  • round N+3: *k2tog, k1, sl purlwise, k2, sl purlwise, repeat from *
  • round N+4: *p2, yb, sl purlwise, yf, repeat from *
  • round N+5: k1, *sl purlwise, k2tog, k2, sl purlwise, k3, repeat from *
  • round N+6: p1, *yb, sl purlwise, yf, p3, repeat from *
  • round N+7: *k3, sl purlwise, k2tog, k1, sl purlwise, repeat from *
  • round N+8: *p3, yb, sl purlwise, yf, p2, yb, sl purlwise, yf, repeat from *
  • round N+9: k1, *sl purlwise, k2tog, k1, sl purlwise, k2, repeat from *
  • round N+10: p1, *yb, sl purlwise, yf, p2, repeat from *
  • round N+11: *k2tog, k4, repeat from *
  • round N+12: p across
  • round N+13: *k2tog, k3, repeat from *
  • round N+14: p across
  • round N+15: *k2tog, k2, repeat from *
  • round N+16: p across
  • round N+17: *k2tog, k1, repeat from *
  • round N+18: p across
  • round N+19: *k2tog across
  • cut yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail. Using a crochet hook, thread the tail through the remaining stitches and tie in a knot to seal the end of the hat. Weave in ends.
  • % Decrease Note: You can simplify the decrease by doing a garter stitch pattern (knit one round, purl the next, decreasing every 7 stitches on the first knit round, decreasing every 6 stitiches on the next knit round, decreasing every 5 stitches on the next knit round, etc)
• The chart
  I thought it would be neat to create a chart for this pattern so you can see how the slip stitches create the "darts" that are staggered throughout the hat. I continue the darts for a few rounds of the decrease before switching to a simple garter stitch. I created the chart using David Xenakis's knitting symbol font.

Responses[3]

Posted by Jessica on April 18, 2006 12:58:00 AM EDT #

On Saturday I was able to put the whole problem together, but fell off one hold from the end. I knew that I'd be able to get it the next time I was at the gym. All the moves felt smooth, the transitions were controlled, and the holds didn't feel near as crimpy as they used to.

I got it last night.

Its a great problem. Each move individually is interesting, and there are a few that really take some work to figure out (particularly that match on the triangle -- which, thanks to the pointers from Kathleen, I can get every time now). The real challenge of the problem is the length of it, I *think* there are about 13 different moves -- pretty long for a bouldering problem.

Now I've gotta find a new project. Any suggestions?

The original crimpy entries:

• Crimpy Crimpy Long Bitch - Mar 17, 2006
• Crimpy Crimpy Progress - Apr 2, 2006

Add a comment

Posted by Jessica on April 11, 2006 8:05:12 AM EDT #

My little sister, Diana Bradley has joined team Bury the Dragon and will be climbing with us in Salt Lake this September. I'm so excited! The Team now has 9 people and has raised nearly $12,000. DAMN.

We've been trying to think of different ways we can raise money.... So far I've made email requests to family, coworkers and friends, and I am SO impressed with everyone's generosity. The next two avenues I need to look into are donations from the companies I work for. EMS will match any donations I make myself. So thats great. At HP, they would do the same. I was going to email the head of JBoss HR this week to see about a JBoss donation, but I believe they'll be a bit busy in the coming weeks, so I'll wait til things calm down -- I've got til September.

Sam and I are quite avid knitters, so one idea is to sell some of our knitting -- hats? scarves? I think with some of the neat stitch patterns I recently acquired will come in quite handy to make some really cool items.... we've just gotta figure out where we can sell them. Colleen and Taramin are knitters too -- so this may be a great avenue. We'll see where things go!

Add a comment

Posted by Jessica on April 10, 2006 4:50:12 PM EDT #

We went to Barnes and Noble today after dinner (another tasty tasty meal at Joe's Peking Duck). I wanted to get a stitch dictionary. As I mentioned before, my current project is... kinda boring: knit, knit, knit, knit, knit. cut yarn. join yarn. knit knit knit knit. knit. repeat. So I want to try someting "fun" for my next project. Experiment and play.

I think its amazing how many interesting effects you can get out of two simple stitches: knit and purl. Its just a matter of figuring out how to combine them -- that's what the stitch dictionary is for. Sam mentioned that one way we might be able to raise money for the Climb4Life event is to sell hats, and I think we could make some snazzy hats just by playing with stitch patterns. They had a few different books there that I flipped through so I thought I'd write up my thoughts on what I saw:

	The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stiches: Over 900 Great Stitches Detailed for Needle Crafters of Every Level ISBN: 0762104058 Format: Hardcover, 320pp Pub. Date: May 2003 Publisher: Reader's Digest Association, Inc	things I liked: I crochet as well as knit, so the fact that this book included stitch patterns for both was a huge plus. Other than the breakup between knit and crochet patterns, there are smaller categories of patterns and each category has a nice introduction explaining what constitutes the patterns within. There's a nice index in the back and a decent table of contents in the front as well as in front of both the knitting and crochet halves. There are over 900 stitch patterns! things I didn't like: Each pattern is shown in a different color yarn, which can be a bit distracting. There are no knitting charts shown with any of the patterns.
	Vogue Knitting Stitchionary: Volume One Knit & Purl ISBN: 1931543771 Format: Hardcover, 240pp Pub. Date: September 2005 Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc	As with most of the Vogue books and magazine that I've seen, this book has a very striking look. things I liked: There are only 2 or 3 patterns on each page, so it has a very clean look. The full swatch of each pattern is shown. I think that point is important because it lets you see how the "square" swatch is twisted and affected by the stitch pattern. Each pattern is shown in the same yarn -- so your eye isn't distracted by the color or the yarn, and you can concentrate on the pattern itself. things I didn't like: There are no stitch charts shown that could help you to better understand the pattern. There is very little commentary in the book -- there's no text introducing each of the three main sections, and I think it would have been nice to give some context or introduction to each section
	Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns ISBN: 1402727631 Format: Paperback, 288pp Pub. Date: August 2005 Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc	The book claims to have 500 some odd patterns. Certainly an impressive number. things I liked: Each pattern has a corresponding knitting chart that helps to describe the stitches. There's a huge number of patterns. things I didn't like: Each pattern is shown in a different color yarn, which I find a bit distracting.
	365 Knitting Stitches a Year: Perpetual Calendar ISBN: 1564774325 Format: Paperback, 384pp, ringbound Pub. Date: June 2002 Publisher: Martingale & Company	Unfortunatley, I couldn't really inspect this book... It comes sealed in shrink wrap, so I wasn't able to flip through it and see the format, the stitch detail, the instructions or if they offered any chart. things I liked: I like the fact that it's a flip book -- it would be easy to prop up the one page and use the pattern, as opposed to balancing an open-faced book on one leg while I rested my knitting on the other. things I didn't like: Don't know, couldn't open the calendar to find out.

I ended up buying The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stiches because (as the title infers) it has both knitting and crochet stitches -- and with 900 patterns for $24, its hard to argue with the value. When I came home I looked up each of these books online and found that Barnes&Noble.com has the Vogue Stitchionary for $21, as opposed to the in-store $29. PLUS, the 2nd volume comes out next month... and there's a 3rd one in the works. That'd be cool to have all three. Good marketing scheme I think... its may just be workin on me.

Add a comment

Posted by Jessica on April 10, 2006 12:02:59 AM EDT #

On Sunday, Sam, Colleen and I went climbing in Birdsboro, PA. My friend, Jeff Salvage came too. We thought it was pretty damn cool -- three girls go climbing and they bring their own photographer. I mean -- how much better can it get? Gorgeous weather, fun climbing, great company and awesome pictures to record the day.

This was Colleen and my first time sport leading outside. Sam taught me how to clean, too (how to remove the gear from a route).

We started off on a couple easy 5.6/7 routes on the Low Wall -- "Neophyte Delight" and "Dancing Nancy". Then we moved over to the First Section. Sam kicked ASS. She lead a 5.8 (with a tough 5.10ish start). I think she was on "Denny" and "Puss N Boots". She set up a top rope off the top two bolts and Colleen and I were able to make a couple climbs off of it. It was SO cool having Jeff there. I believe he ended up taking something like 788 photos. On the drive home, he was able to whittle them down to 58. Here are my favorite seven:

Responses[10]

Posted by Jessica on April 3, 2006 10:59:58 PM EDT #

I finished my Rag Rug! You can read the original entry for the rag rug to see the pattern I used and the modifications I did to it.

In a nutshell -- I converted the pattern from a circle to an oval in order to fit in the small space between my toilet, sink and bathtub. I think it fits pretty well, and changing the stitches on the long ends of the oval from a single crochet stitch (sc) to a half-double crochet stitch (hdc) helped to lengthen the rug without widening it.

The completed rag rug in my bathroom.	Turns out that a rag rug makes a good nail scratcher for a cat.

Responses[1]

Posted by Jessica on April 3, 2006 9:42:50 PM EDT #

First of all: I love this show.

Second of all: I didn't cry.

Tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy included a story about a mom who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Near the end of the episode you see the mom sitting on the bed with her daughter -- telling her all sorts of advice "Study hard"... "Take AP classes"... "Marry a man who has a good relationship with his mother, but if he lives with his mother, run the other way". I didn't cry. I think this is the first time I've watched a movie or a television show that deals with a cancer patient telling a loved one goodbye (or some topic near that) and didn't end up in tears. Is that progress? Do I want to make that kind of progress? I don't know. But, I didn't cry.

Responses[1]

Posted by Jessica on April 2, 2006 11:16:34 PM EDT #

Friday night was the monthly Women's Climbing Clinic at Go Vertical. The night's topic was 'route finding' -- how to look at a bouldering problem or a climbing route and planning out where you'll go -- which hand goes where... which foot... where your weight will be... and what your next move will be. All the clinics are about making you a better climber, a more efficient climber, an elegant climber.

I try to make the women's climbing clinic whenever I can. Its the perfect opportunity to get critiqued. -- "What was that? Do it again." -- "Make your feet quieter" -- "Now, why did you do it that way?" -- "What if you try this" -- "Think about how you're holding that with your hand" -- "Place your foot, don't just put it out there" -- "Stand up straight." Ahhh I love it. It makes me be more concious of how I'm climbing -- how I'm moving. It makes me climb slower, more precise and more efficiently.

The clinic's topic was neat. I almost always "air climb" a route or a problem before I climb it -- mentally walk through the climb and try to figure out where my hands will go. But I'd never really worried about where my feet would be, and I'd never taken the time to compare what I *thought* I would do to what I actually did. That was interesting. It was also neat to see how other people would plan out the same climb. Different bodies climb the same route very differently. Ahhh, I love climbing.

At the end of the clinic Kathleen asked if there was a problem anyone was working on that they'd like help with. I immediately piped up about the crimpy crimpy problem on the back wall. I tried the crimpy match a couple times -- falling off just before I could grab the next hold. Kathleen suggested I climb the route from the other side. Instead of going right to left -- try it left to right. See where your body wants to go -- see what position it starts in from the other side -- that's how it should be when you end up going in the right direction. And I got it! I climbed it backwards and made note of how my weight was held, how my body was positioned -- then I tried it from the right to left and voila! Got it. Now I've gotta do it a couple more times and then get it all in sequence. Progress feels so good.

Responses[1]

Posted by Jessica on April 2, 2006 7:50:08 AM EDT #