Handling a Hank

You may be thinking that this post is about how to evade an irritating person named Hank, but no, it's a knitting post! Earlier this week at my local knitting store, I was permitted to use the wooden swift, unattended, to ball up my hanks of KOIGU and I'm actually pretty proud of that. (Sadly it doesn't take much, ladies and gentleman....).

So. Many yarns are sold in tractable bundles such as "center-pull balls" or "skeins" that allow you to cast on immediately and start your project. But a lot of yarn is sold in a bundle called a "hank", which is basically a big loop of yarn that's twisted up like a figure eight and needs to be re-wound into a ball or a spool before starting your project. Why would yarn not already come balled up? The answer is pretty odd, according to my research - a lot of yarn is large-scale manufactured in 3rd world countries, where cheap manufacturing costs are key. Apparently purchasing and maintaining a machine that is designed to wind center pull balls is an expense many factories can not (or choose not to) fund. I've also heard that yarn can be packaged better when it's in a hank, as well. So the expense of balling yarn goes to the purchaser. Note that although balling up my yarn by hand wasn't the worst thing in the world, it does take time and I'm sure it wouldn't be fun if I was chained to a radiator, doing it for 20 hours a day.

OK, so how does the yarn get into neat little balls? Do customers wind them up at home? You can - and I've done it a couple times - and it starts to be a serious pain after about 5 minutes. Also in this scenario, the balls pull from the outside, which means they roll all over the place as you knit. This isn't a major inconvenience, but when it rolls far away, it causes extra tension in the yarn when you knit. And not to mention that if it rolls under the couch, it gets all sorts of dust bunnies on it. At least with my sofa. A yarn swift is used to create center-pull balls that will sit nicely in one spot as you knit. You basically loop the yarn hank around the "umbrella" portion of the swift, and expand it so the loop stays taught (but not too taught). Next you cut or untie (I never like to suggest cutting anything in knitting) the yarn holding the hank together and feed one of the loose ends through the metal eye and onto the winder. As you turn the winder handle, the umbrella will rotate and feed the winder. And 2 minutes later: Voila! A nice center-pull ball of yarn is ready! Generally the yarn store has a swift that they'll use to ball your material, as a courtesy for your purchase. Using a swift does require a little bit of hand coordination, which is why I am excited that the employees at the store let me finally use it on my own. If you don't know what you're doing, the yarn can slip off, or get caught in a nasty knot - and no employee wants to deal with customers doing this.

Could you skip balling up your yarn and knit right from the hank? I suppose, but I've read comments from many knitters who've done this and almost all report ultimately cutting their losses (from vicious knots that formed) and purchasing a whole new skein of yarn. You can see the center-pull yarn ball here, that I'm making socks from. These socks are for my wonderful husband, who requested them oh about a year ago, and has been patiently waiting. The socks are KOIGU KPPPM, knit on size 3 DPNs.

So that's a little blurb on using a swift. Hey, before I go, Happy Birthday to my mom, my father-in-law, and my cousin's wife, who all have birthdays this week! Cheers!

Pom-Poms... a Party for Your Head!

My first ear-flap hat is complete! These hats are a great project - I followed the Kim's Hats pattern in LMKG. Although I made the design of this hat with a very simple, I am looking forward to putting in stripes and different colors in subsequent ones.

Pom-poms are key. And these are home-made ones - no pom-pom maker for me! A note about this picture - my camera generally will blur any subject matter that isn't statuesque - so I am happily surprised that this action shot came out so clear!

The pattern from LMKG was OK, but I definitely did make deviations. Originally I cast on 88 stitches, per my measurements and the instructions. Sadly, I had to rip this version out and start over after I was swimming in the brim. So 76 stitches was the magic number. Also, the instructions called for 7" from CO to the beginning of the crown decreases. I did 6.5" and I definitely could have just done 6". I also made the ear flaps smaller. I knit this hat on a 16", US #9 circular needle (and used DPNs for the ear flaps and top of the hat). The pattern was good as a guide - but 88 stitches for CO and 9.5 inches from brim to top pom-pom?? I guess there must be someone out there whose noggin fits those dimensions - maybe they're all at MIT or NASA.

I'm really happy that this hat was so fun and quick to knit - I think knitting these hats will be good interim projects to break up longer ones - speaking of said longer projects, I'm considering starting the Central Park Hoodie on Ravelry. Larissa is also thinking of starting one, so it'd be fun to both work on our hoodies together! Anyway, cheers to the ear-flap hat!

Lovely Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and Jason and I spent it in the city. We really had a wonderful weekend, primarily just because we got to spend time with each other, without worrying about work, life, or the endless "to-do" list!

We started off by having brunch at Balthazar, in Soho. I'd actually read about this restaurant for their entrees and dinner, not for it's bakery, which it's probably even more well-known for. Their food is outstanding - I had a goat cheese and onion tart and a croissant - the tart was fantastic because the cheese was light and creamy! And how funny is this - we were sitting right next to John Grisham and his wife! We actually saw them on the Today Show earlier in morning - he must have finished the interview and went for breakfast with is wife (Jason recognized he was wearing the same outfit as on TV). Every time he looked our way, I kept thinking "I wonder if he's inspired by the way Jason poured syrup on his waffles, or the way I use a "caveman" grip on my fork when cutting, and maybe he'll write this into his next book!" which is pretty arrogant of a thought, I suppose. Anyway, I digress... go to Balthazar. You'll love it.

Balthazar is also just a few blocks away from PurlSoho, one of my favorite knitting stores. We swung by after brunch, before heading up-town. The shop looks like a box of Crayola crayons (the 64 crayon pack), with every nook and cranny of each wall neatly stacking all sorts of yarns in a rainbow of colors. I picked up more Manos yarn. You know... anyone who thinks knitting can't be addictive hasn't been to this store.

After Purl (and a tenuous 30 min where temporarily I mis-placed our theater tickets), we headed uptown to the Music Box Theater to see August: Osage County. This show was fantastic. It had a bit of a slow start, but got better and better every act. I really liked Johanna Day's portrayal of "Barbara Fordham" - Barbara is the pragmatic, sharp-tongued daughter who temporarily steps in as matriarch (out of duty? or personality?) of the family when her father disappears and her mother's drug-addiction becomes incapacitating. The show's set looked like just like a scaled up doll-house! I haven't seen a play or a show in years, and this one has reminded me how talented Broadway actors are and what a great experience seeing a live show can be!

After the play and dinner, we retired to our hotel, the Waldorf=Astoria (owned/operated by Hilton, I believe). You know.... for a "luxurious, elegant Hotel" (their words, not mine), we though it was a little bit lacking. The 100 year old hotel itself, is beautiful, and I don't even like "old stuff". The lobby and concierge area has classic dark-wood walls and a beautiful clock in the center - the lobby actually reminded me of the clock area at Grand Central. But... there were just some amenities that didn't stack up. Like the shower - it took 20 min to run before hot water arrived (or course I realized this AFTER I finished a chilly shower and was about to call the front desk once sensitivity returned to my frozen fingers). And the parking situation - even though we called the garage 30 min before we were heading out per instructions, we still had a 20 minute wait to boot. I'm sure part of this is something that just comes along with a "vintage" hotel - I'm guessing that the old plumbing doesn't support bringing hot water 26 floors up quickly - and it's not like originally the hotel had to deal with parking and jockeying hundreds of cars around the way they do now. So I suppose I understand that. But the continental breakfast kinda felt like a feeding frenzy with lots of people cutting lines to eat egg casserole and cereal from plastic dispersers (like something you'd find at a casino in AC); This kinda stuff has nothing to do with the age of the hotel. And rather than pay $30 for a pint of ice-cream from room service, we just walked across the street to Duane Reed and got the same for $5. Overall, the hotel is nice, but doesn't justify it's price-tag.

I think just having an entire day together, with no responsibilities other than to relax and enjoy life, was what made Valentine's such a lovely day (cue the music, please).

What Not To Knit

These cotton market bags, that's what! The pattern I followed was"Elisa's Nest Tote" and I don't think I'd make them again. Even though I did knit two of them. (I have a tendency to get excited about a project and buy enough yarn to make 2 or 3 items even before I start - I hope this is not forshadowing problems with my upcoming ear-flap hats). I made the green tote first - the achilles heel of this pattern is the handles. Do you see the problem with the way the handles bind to the bag? You can't open the tote up when you pull the handles apart! In the photo here, I went to put some magazines in the tote, but had to fold them in a cylinder shape to get them in.


So - I decide to modify the pattern such that the handles don't impede opening the bag. The final product is seen here, with 12 clementines in it. I suppose changing the handles did help the functionality of the bag some, but there is still a gap where the trim doesn't cover on the top of the bag. Well.....with this orange tote, at least you could fit more than a baguette loaf through the opening of the bag.

Other comments / modifications about this pattern - I agree with what most folks on Ravlery said - the bag would look better if knit on circular needles. And I only used 4 stitches (vs the 6 the pattern called for) on the I-cord.

But... at least I learned how to make an "Applied I-cord" with this project, so I did learn something! And I think the semi-permanent dent in my thumb from knitting the applied I-cord with size 3 DPNs is starting to go away. So those are at least a couple positive take-aways!

Drinks and Dessert

Drinks are another great way to unwind! After work this past Thursday I was in the city at a new place for me, Pegu Club with my hubby Jason and friend Tom. Tom, who is the author of My Cocktail Journey blog, had recommended the place, and it did not disappoint! The Red Pepper! Red Pepper! drink was outstanding. I thought it was going to be a spicy drink, but it was actually red bell pepper tasting - sweet and refreshing. My hubby also enjoyed the ginger beer cocktail, which was very flavorful, as well. Pegu Club is definitely worth a visit.

Also in the neighborhood of Pegu Club is Rice to Riches - Jason and I were introduced to this dessert gem by his good friend Bill. It's a great cafe that exclusively serves rice pudding, but in some unique and luxurious flavors. By the time we left Pegu Club, we barely had time to swing by for dessert. Thanks to some skillful driving by Tom we just made it!

As a take-home treat, Jason and I got a "Sumo" container of rice pudding for home. Of course we planned that this would last us the week, but I think it was gone in 3 evenings. I don't even like rice pudding, but the stuff this place serves up is undeniable. Please don't tell my trainer.

Oh and in a knitting update... I just completed this little scarf for a colleague's birthday. It's the Airy Scarf pattern from LMKG. I used KidSilk Haze (Rowan) in a sage green color. I thought knitting with this very fine, feathery yarn (70% kid super kid mohair, 30% silk yarn) was going to be like knitting a cobweb, but it actually went quite well! And it knit in the timeframe the book suggested! I definitely recommend this as a quick knit that yields a really nice final product.

Manos Madness

My local knitting shop is having a sale, so I stopped in. Earlier in the week, employees told me this sale brings in loads of people, and lines have been know to go out the door. This was exactly the motivation I needed to NOT participate - Who wants to fight for left-over colors, odd lots, or a bin full of "fun-fur"? But.... I happened to wake up early this morning, and figured that since today is the 2nd day of the sale, lines would be far less lengthy and maybe I could pick up some good deals, even if some good inventory was gone.

I arrived 30 min after the store opened and actually found it to be a nice experience - lots of employees floating around to help customers and good discounts - everything was at least 20% off, with lots of items up to 50% off. I'm guessing the fun fur was 90% off???. I decided to pick up some Manos to make some winter hats! In the Last Minute Knitted Gifts book, they have some cool hats that have ear-flaps, pom-poms, and interesting stripes. (I love pom-poms). Lots of ways to be creative with this project. And this would be my first time making hats, so buying the yarn on sale would be good all around. I had some left over Manos from knitting the Purl scarf (from the same book), so I chose colors to compliment it. Here's what I got:

# 34 Oilslick
# 26 Rosin
(I have a bit of the #49 Henna left over - perhaps enough for earflaps?)
# 36 Mallard

So... this is always the dreamy part of the project to me... my stream of consciousness goes something like: "I love this material these hats would be adorable maybe they'll come out just like what's in the book maybe someone on the street will stop and ask me about it and inquire if I could make them one and then their friends will love the hat and insist I make them some and maybe income from knitting ear-flap hats would at first compliment my current salary working for the man and then quickly meet and surpass it and then I could just knit beautiful, unique hats and various other accessories and maybe then I'd be like that lady who patented spanx and run my own company and retire at an early age"........ and then I start knitting, hit the first dropped stitch, unclear pattern direction, or repetative-motion-induced pain in my hand, and remember why I don't quit my day job.