Spring Ahead!

Spring has sprung upon us, with sunny skies and warm sunshine. Bulbs are springing up all over my yard. Time to get the deer fence up again, and break out the spring sweaters. I knit and designed this sweater which I called Column of Leaves Cardigan in 2007, and have enjoyed wearing it . Folks have been asking for the pattern, but it always seemed way beyond my skills to write up.Funny how things can be easier to do than to describe, but the problem is sizing it for other people! Because of the nature of the construction I used ( seamless yoke) and the lace pattern, it is almost a different sweater and has to be figured out anew for each size. But I loved how the back came together:

So I've been crunching out the numbers, making charts, swatching and making little paper models to figure out the sizing and I think I've almost nailed it! Then it is off to my test knitters, and hopefully I can publish it soon....

In other news, my son returned from college with is stuff which is now in boxes all over the living room. What does he have? Here is one box of treasures:

He can actually solve all of those! Amazing!

Stormageddon

It was a dark and stormy night, and I woke up to this trampoline in my back yard on Sunday, the 14th.

Our whole neighborhood lost power on Saturday,and all the roads in and out were blocked , and I had a cold, so it was really crazy. Trees down all over the place,

but luckily my house was fine ( remember that big tree we cut down last November???Thank goodness...)My neighbor's trampoline flew like the house in the Wizard of Oz and landed in the spot where that tree used to be! We finally got power back last night. It was really cold in the house, down to 45 degrees and I  had to wear gloves and my UGGs in the house so my fingers and toes wouldn't freeze. And all the frozen food got warm and melted. A good time to clean out the fridge by candle light.And it was almost  too cold to knit! And too dark to cook on the gas stove. About 7 years ago, during a bad power outage,we got a generator, but hadn't used it since. It came in handy this time, but was very expensive and noisy to run on propane..

so we couldn't use the generator for long ( one tank is about 4 hours and
cost $18...).Yesterday and today it was like camping. Nice warm shower, but
freezing cold bathroom!
We were, on the whole, lucky in my neighborhood. Our neighbor's beautiful pine tree fell down right beside the house:

And luckily missed it entirely. But we lost power because of a fallen oak up the street. Con Ed did a great job getting 2 new poles installed and things hooked up last night, 3 days after we lost power, so that is a huge relief. Things could have been much worse.I'm really greatful for power! It is nice to read my email ,blog, sew, run the dishwasher, shower in the light and even watch some TV! So much of current life depends on electricity.  Knitting was possible, but difficult by candlelight, and with gloves on!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Math is Everywhere

Lately I've been thinking a lot about math. The amazing spiral produced by my pineapple plant ( with purple flowers!) follows the Fibonacci number sequence ( http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm ) and is just lovely. I finished the top of the Tessellation Sampler, which is a quilting exploration of semi-regular tessellations for the next mathematics and needlework book from the group that brought us "Mathematics in Needlework". See my post from 2008 for details about that wonderful book ( http://jeririggs.blogspot.com/2008/01/making-mathematics-with-needlework.html ).

And of course, there is knitting! I finished my second Ingrid Cardigan, this time in blue : yarn:Trendsetter Merino VIII, needle size 8. A very wearable and lovely sweater in my favorite shade of blue!

Pattern available in my Ravelry Store ( http://www.ravelry.com/ , Jeri Rigged Designs).

Snow Laughing Matter

It is snowing again. Big, fluffy flakey clumps. Slippery and cold. An hour later, more snow:

I am sooo dissappointed, as I was planning to visit Maine for some fibery fun with friends and the group NETA, New England Textile Arts. I finished writing up my pattern for Ingrid Cardigan ( available at http://www.ravelry.com/, but you have to sign up and be a member. Totally worth it if you love yarn, though, as it is like Facebook for Knitters and Crocheters, only better! And free! I'm Knitbird on there, btw) so I could show off the finished sweater and have some context, but it is not to be.

Meanwhile,inside, my pineapple is growing and orchids are flowering:

And I'm in the home stretch of Ingrid #2:

So, time to start a new quilt, right?
This one is for a friend, and it is a Tesselation Sampler:

Of course, at the moment it looks random, but I have faith that it will develop into something interesting!

At least I'm distracted from the snow and the rain....

Gauge Lies

It always amazes me how gauge lies. Therein lies the difficulty in getting knitted items to fit; yarn stretches and behaves unpredictably when knitted up! My measurements and calculations don't always knit up the way I predict. For example, this sleeve:

Became too long, despite my calculations about length. Thank goodness for top-down knitting! I will rip back and reknit the cuff, and it will fit my exact length! And after blocking, if it stretches some more, I can also adjust it. Using a superwash yarn here can mean it might lengthen in the blocking, as the scales are closed, so the yarn won't stick to itself so much. Or so I believe.

I often will knit the sleeves after I get the body divided and a few inches knitted on that, because if I am going to have just enough yarn, I'd rather the sleeves fit and the body be a few rows short than vice versa.

Meanwhile, to answer Tanja's question, here is a nifty free charting application that I have been using:

http://jacquie.typepad.com/Charts/knitChart.htm .

Meanwhile, my pineapple is growing!

And of course we had more snow the other day, so here is that obligatory shot:

I am having a lot of fun with Ingrid, both my own knitting and that of my test-knitters. Here is one beautiful example, using yarn hand dyed by the knitter:

You can also see how Ingrid herself is coming along with her sweater here: : http://strickpraxis.wordpress.com/

Snow Day

Snow days are often fun, if you have a warm house and some knitting to keep you sane. Here is what it looks like outside after a bit of shoveling:

Thank goodness for teenage boys willing to shovel!

And with a sense of humor....

Meanwhile, in other news,

A pineapple fruit has sprouted and is growing in my greenhouse!

I started this plant at least 3 years ago by cutting off the top of a purchased pineapple and putting it in a bunch of dirt....

And of course some knitting is going on. I am reknitting Ingrid Cardigan in a different gauge yarn and writing the pattern for 5 sizes. I am almost ready to release it to the world. My first test knitter has started hers also, with a different cable. You can see her just finished beautiful alpacarina sweater here: http://strickpraxis.wordpress.com/

So here is my new one:

front view

Back view

Shoulder view.

Now, back to knit some more...

Ingrid Cardigan lives!

On the coldest day so far, I finally finished my cardigan, which is great, as it is 19 degrees here today! My son obliged me in taking some photos. On the whole I am pleased with how it came out, as I gave in to the zipper fetish I seem to have. There is just something so cozy and symmetrical about zippers. Maybe it is the nice hug feeling, or the fact that, despite shaping and such, I always feel buttons will gape and open unattractively. Anyway, I have nearly finished writing up the pattern, except for the size modifications, and then it will be ready for prime time.

Now I'll have to finish my blue cardigan, and then contemplate my next project...

Here it is with collar up...and then, back view:

And finally side: