All the way from New Zealand

Jean sent her pincushion entry. She says it's a genuine NZ Pine tree log pincushion. NZ stands for New Zealand, because that's where she lives. Isn't that exciting? She took a photograph of a slice from a tree, printed it onto photo fabric, cut and stitched, and ended up with this very inventive pincushion.

The Real NZ Pincushion  (Top) made by Jean

Pincushion top with log and bark sowing

Pincushion the other way around, sitting on the grass

We're seeing a lot of ingenuity in this competition, aren't we?

Thanks for playing along, Jean.

Sometimes the world turns in mysterious ways

The last time I wrote about my attempt to create a square by knitting in the round, if you'll remember, it was to report a total failure. I had an inkling of where I wanted to go, but the rest was pretty fuzzy.

All I want is a simple square that I can embroider and join with other similar squares to make a sweet baby blanket. That's not so much to ask for is it? I want to use Cascade 220 Superwash (worsted weight) with 4.5mm needles. The square needs to be sturdy. And it needs to WANT to be a square.

So, the morning after my last failed experiment, wherein I added extra balanced increases and got 4 extra 'corners' (Yikes! More of a spiky circle, than a square!) I got an email describing an antique mitten. The author wrote that the knitter had increased randomly, so that you could hardly tell where the increases occurred. Well, now. That's a thought, isn't it?

So, with the universe speaking to me so directly, and my tin foil hat pulled down tightly on my head, I set about my next experiment. With the stitches divided on 4 needles, so that each needle represents one side of my would-be square, I increased 1 stitch just inside the first and last stitches of each needle on every other row. PLUS I increased one stitch randomly, at the same time, somewhere in the middle of the stitches of each needle. A total of 3 extra stitches every other row (which is the increase I calculated last time). I used the increase where you pick up the stitch from the row below, because it's almost invisible. So, when I got to Round 28 (which is 4 in. of knitting from the cast-on centre), I had 43 stitches (which measure 8 in., more or less) on each needle.  I had been thinking about 12-inch squares, and then 10-inch squares, but I've finally settled on 8-inch squares, because I think they'll better suit the embroidery I have in mind. I'll just have to make more of them. (Win some/lose some.)

So, here's the square after I steam-blocked it. It still has the blocking wires in the live edge stitches, because I'm still nervous it's not going to work.

And here it is with the wires removed. Is it not a thing of beauty???!! I flipped it around, and waved it in the breeze, and STILL it wants to be the square it needs to be. I am not worried that the live edge stitches want to curl a little. That will solve itself when it's joined to its neighbour. But the sides are square and true.

Maybe it's because this was a struggle, or maybe it's because it's a triumph of math for someone who can't even keep a simple phone number in her brain long enough to write it down, but this seems like a massive victory. And I'm smart enough to know this is where  I need to leave the project for today.

Reporting back

I promised to report on my squared circle trial. I had hoped it would be with an amazing "Ta-DA!, I DID it!"  Unfortunately, I'm still struggling. :(  All in a day's work.

First, I'll distract you with a photo of my lovely assistant demonstrating the square 

while it was still on my needles. Look carefully, and you'll see my feet. 

Yup. She's on my lap.

Next, a photo of the square off the needles. 

I'm nervous about that point that's forming on each side.

But, here it is blocking. It didn't need much muscle to form the square, 

and there were lots of stitches at the perimeter. No pulling this time.

It's still looks promising.

Here's the stitch-maps chart of what I tried. 

I was a little worried by the way it tends to form a point 

in the middle of this string of stitches (which represents one side of the square), 

but I hoped it would just all work out. 

If you remember, I determined I needed to increase 3 stitches every other round. 

That means 6 stitches every 4 rounds.

Click on the Stitch-maps link to see the instructions written out, if you like. 

Or don't. It didn't work out the way I'd hoped. 

Once blocked, the square still doesn't want to be a square. 

I need a good, solid square to embroider on. 

I'm still working on finding one.

More pincushions

Régina has been busy. She says she's been bitten by the pincushion bug. As bugs go, this seems to me to be a fairly good bug to get bitten by.

Balle Bleu by Régina

Heart by Régina

Balle rose by Régina

Such beautiful pincushions! You can see more of Régina's work on her blog: 

http://reginasquilts.blogspot.ca/

The competition heats up

Felted Flower Pincushion by Gaye 

And today, we have another entry in the Pincushion Design Contest (for the rest of us) 2015. It's a beautiful, and very creative flower made by Gaye of g.a.s. art. Gaye says she comes from a very small town in Saskatchewan "where winters are long and days are short". She says she has lots of time to make ideas come to life.

Gaye's flower pincushion is made from felted vintage wool, with hand blanket stitching on the edges of the petals and leaves, and mounted on a rusty bed spring. How creative! I'd say she fits right in here in the Kingdom, wouldn't you?

She has some very cool owls on her blog. You might just want to have a look.

Exciting news about the pincushion contest!

You haven't forgotten, right? The deadline for the Pincushion Design Contest (for the rest of us) 2015 is fast approaching. April 1st. Winners will be announced the following day, because we don't drag our feet here in the Kingdom. As I promised, there will be prizes.

As well as my puny (and yet-to-be-named) prizes, Heather from the blog Books and Quilts (and a friend of this blog) is sponsoring her own prize, and it's a great prize. She will choose the pincushion that pleases her the most, and award its maker a book from Book Depository. The only restrictions are that the book be no more than $20.  (Can.) in value, and the winner must live in a country where Book Depository offers free delivery. That's practically everywhere!! Heather runs a weekly post called Needlework Tuesday where readers can share what they're up to. Check it out!

Squaresville

Sooooo, did you happen to notice that the blocked square wasn't exactly square? Yeah, me, too. :( And even though I blocked it really hard, it still wowed on the sides. Double :( :(.

Blocking the square as hard as I did had an additional downside. The fabric is way less dense than I intended, and the colourwork especially, looks all stretched out.

I thought for a while the problem might be the corner increases. I was doing Kf&b (Knit through both the front and back loops) of each end stitch. That's not a balanced increase, since each new stitch appears to the left of the original stitch. In my mind, these are 4 equilateral triangles (the 4 wedges that make up the squared-off circle). And they must be symmetric.

Instead of Kf&b, I tried to put a leaning decrease one stitch in from the edge of each side. I won't bother to describe it in any more detail here, because it didn't work. Oh, I like the symmetry of it, but the sides still wowed.

A little math seems to be required, and a little more thought.

For the final block to end up at 12 inches, the radius must be 6 inches. OK. Got that. The inner angle of the wedge must be 90°. I think with the blocking, we've got that. BUT the outside edge of the wedge (the perimeter of the square) should be 12 inches, too. I STRETCHED it to 12 inches with the hard blocking, but should blocking (like marriage) really be that hard? I don't think so.

And that's what brings us to the question of gauge. With Cascade 220 Superwash in my hot little hands, with 4.5 mm needles, I am getting a stitch gauge of 5.5 stitches/inch. So, for a 12 inch outside edge, I ought to have 66 stitches (for each wedge). And what do I have? Only 44.

I forgot about row gauge. I am getting 7 rows/in. That means to achieve 6 inches of knitting, I need to do 42 rows. If I started with 3 stitches, I need to increase 62 stitches over 44 rows. Or, more precisely, over 21 rows, since I increase on alternate rows. This is where my left brain moves over so my right brain can shout, "62 divided by 21 is VERY CLOSE to THREEEEE!"

And that, Knitting Touristas to the Kingdom, is what I'm going to try next. I will make 3 increases in alternate rows. A left leaning increase one stitch in from the starting point. A right leaning increase one stitch before the last stitch. AND, wait for it........one increase right dead centre in the square. It needs to be symmetrical though. Hmmmmm......

I don't think I can visualize this until I actually get the wool on my needles. Stay tuned.

New Directions

With winter and snow and mittens in the rear view mirror, looking ahead to spring ...

... with a new project. I have a very loose plan, and lots of Cascade 220 Superwash wool to play with. Let's start with squares knit in the round. Knitted quilt blocks, really. Here's the first one:

Blocking is magic, isn't it?

Happy First Day of Spring!

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” And, while he might not have been thinking of them, it's true of cats, too. Unfortunately.

Kitten season is soon to begin.

While I was messing around in my workroom this morning, I found a few pairs of orphan mittens. I'm thinking in honour of this, the first day of spring and kitten season, we might have a pop up sale with the money going to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. There will be vet bills ahead, as they work towards stabilizing the colony.

All mittens are 100% wool. Hand knit. From the top left, clockwise, we have the Embroidered Felt Flower Mittens, Things Are Looking Up Mittens, Pistachio Mittens (all for an adult hand) and the child-sized Pink Flower Mittens (to fit a child 4 - 6 years old). Posted prices include shipping.

Rock bottom prices! The sale will end on Monday, March 23 at midnight.

Please leave a comment if you'd like one of these pairs of mittens, and I'll give you the Paypal info.

I did a little tallying this morning, and was surprised to find that I had knit about 28 pairs of mittens in the past year. One idea leads to the next, and before you know it, you're up to your nose in mittens. Sort of. Many of these mittens have gone to The Warm Hands Network. Some have been sold to fundraise for the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. Some have gone to friends and family. As I said recently, I feel I'm done with mittens for a while ... at least until next fall. :)

And, for those who might be interested, here's a photo of one of the colony cats:

Photo courtesy of
The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project Website

His name is Andy, and from what I understand, he's been around for a while. He has what looks like, one crumpled ear. Word is that he's the father of many of the village cats. We met him in the village recently, and he let Mr. Coco pet him. Very sweet, and a handsome guy. (Andy, not Mr. Coco.....well, Mr. Coco is, too. You know what I mean.)

The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project made Andy a priority, and he was neutered late last year.

What a face!








Edited to add: The 2 pairs on the bottom have been sold. Thank you.
(The child's mittens and the Pishatchio Mittens) .....ugh, make that Pistachio Mittens. :)

Changing gears

Last mittens of the season

So, here we are mid-March, and it's feeling pretty spring-like here in the Kingdom. For the last year, as you know if you've been following along, I've been obsessed with mittens. Colourwork mittens, double-knitted mittens, appliquéd and embroidered mittens. Owl mittens, for heaven's sake. I don't think I've completely finished with mittens, but I feel a change coming on. Some new direction is calling. So, today, I offer these:

Cardinal mittens. Based on a photo taken by Michael Simmons, and used with permission.

Usually, if you follow this blog, you know that I'm all about the whimsy. Fun and silly. Childlike. But these are serious mittens. 100% wool. Lovely and warm. Soft. Sized for an adult hand. $40. includes shipping, and the money goes to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. Leave a comment if you're interested. LFCP can accept payment by Paypal. Delivery by Canada Post anywhere in the world.

SOLD! So happy to report that the mittens are going to their new home, The feral cats of Lyndhurst will not go hungry tonight! :)

You haven't forgotten about the pincushion contest, have you?

I've been spending WAY too much time looking at pincushions on Pinterest. I thought I'd never succumb to Pinterest, but I was wrong.

Here's a lovely crocheted one by Haekelherz that I found on Ravelry. Beautiful!

Our Pincushion contest closes on April 1st.  There's still time to enter yours. All the details can be found through the link in the side bar.