Jason Knits

Just about an hour before heading out to hear Kate sing on Friday, I decided that it was cool enough that I should take the spindle out and try some spinning. Everyone said, “with a little bit of practice everyday and eventually you will be good at it.” Everyone also said, “just relax and keep trying, and it will all click one day.” I just nodded and agreed. But there really was a big question mark.

This was my third try. The first time at the guild meeting, which was a disaster because of sweaty palms. The second was at the spinning class. I absorbed a lot of information, but didn’t quite put it to work. Then the heat was just too much and I couldn’t even think about touching the fluffy fiber.

Back to Friday. I was putting everything I learned in class and from reading “Spin It” to test. I took my time going through each step. Spin, draft, spin, draft, wind… Finally about 10 minutes before leaving it clicked! I understood. Just a little. I realized what I should do with my hands to make yarn. Then I had to put it away.

I couldn’t wait to get back to it. So early evening on Saturday. A much cooler evening. I took out my spindle and roving. Took a few moments to get back to the point that it clicked again. I went at it without changing anything for a while. Then I realized the spindle wasn’t spinning so much. I was using “Hearts” and it was suppose to spin and spin for a long time. Then I remember that my 1.3 oz spindle was labeled as a lighter weight spindle on Wolly Designs’ website. Maybe I was spinning yarn that was too thick to the spindle’s liking. So I tried spinning finer, and the finer it got the longer the spindle spun. I think I got it down to maybe a lace weight (?) and the spindle would spin for a long long time. I was having fun.

One thing about spinning finer yarn is that if I forget to watch the spindle and let it start spinning the opposite direction, the yarn would break and the spindle would drop. There are fewer fiber in the twist and with just a little bit of reversed spinning it would untwist and break. This happened often when I didn’t park the spindle and just left it hanging while I tried to fix a thick section of the yarn. This also brought up another issue. With finer yarn, after breaking it, either intentionally or unintentionally, I find it hard to untwist the fiber with my fingers to prepare for a join. It seems to be retaining some memory even without setting the twist. Any trick for this?

You can see in the picture that it is still a bit of thick-and-thin. I still have to find a way to hold the fiber supply without it being in the palm area. I also have to refine my drafting skill, to get some consistency.

Now that I’ve gotten to know you better, my “Hearts”, I can say that I do love you. But sorry babe, I’m afraid that you won’t be the only one in the future.

Kate and Friends’ performances at Kulak’s Woodshed last night were amazing! The place was small and intimate. Kulak’s Woodshed is small storefront space. It was filled with chairs, cushions everywhere for you to sit. Even a large bed just in front of the stage. The atmosphere was fantastic. We got there early, so we got to choose where to sit, or lie down even. And that’s just what my partner and two friends did. They took the bed. I felt like sitting and they really wanted more people in the front for the webcast, so I sat right down next to the stage. I could just pinch the singers if I wanted to. It was that close. LOL

It’s not a club or coffee house. It is purely a place to showcase artists. They don’t serve food or drinks. They just have a fridge with ice cold water that you can just go up and grab one for yourself. You can read how it all came about on their website. Check out the press reports too. You’ll see the bed in one of the articles. LOL

No door fee. The funds come from donations on the spot or online. Volunteers put in time making the place work. There are numerous cameras throughout. I mean, they were serious about doing a good job with the video webcast. You won’t believe the effort they put in until you see them at work in person. Check out their video archive on the website.

People can also interact with the performers through emails. We got one from someone who was visiting Germany but signed on to watch the performance. When the email arrived, a light in a plastic watering can started flashing. It was quite funny.

Kate, Claire Holley and Jay Matsueda were amazing singers/artists. They are those people that just make you wonder why they are not better known? I’ve known Kate for a little while, but never had a chance to hear her sing live until last night. And she was mighty funny too. They all were. And at Kulak’s Woodshed, when the show’s over you just stick around and talk to the artists like old friends. There’s no backstage for them to go to. If they are done performing, they just sit down next to you and watch the rest of the show. How wonderful is that? LOL

What an amazing experience. I highly recommend it. So, check out their calendar, their videos. Go hang out or go online and watch the performances. I would. I would do it again and again. LOL

Note, 08.02.2006, updated Jay’s link. Check it out!
Note, 08.02.2006, also found that Kate has a myspace page. Link updated for Kate too.

Just a reminder for Kate’s performance at Kulak’s Woodshed tonight. 8PM to 10PM Pacific. If you can’t make it, you can always watch the Live WebCast.

Woke up this morning and immediately it felt different. Cooler. Maybe even less humid? The forecast is good. Temperature is at a downtrend for the next few days. Crossing my fingers.

Blogger is up. Blogger is down. Blogger is up. Blogger is down. :: sigh ::

I haven’t done much with fiber. Knitting or spinning. Just too hot and sweaty. However, I did experiment with Francesca’s Italian style tubular cast-on. I want to see if it works with knitting in the round. I wasn’t successful, only because I lost the last cast-on stitch. Very tricky to get that one to stay put doing it in the round.

But I did find out a few things that I will keep in mind the next time I try.

1. Not recommended for DPNs. Too tricky with too many needles.

2. Francesca showed the cast-on knitting in the flat. I noticed that everything is reversed doing it in the round. When joining to knit in the round, you start with the first cast-on stitch instead of the last cast-on stitch. Also, you are looking at the other side of the knitting when you knit the first round. So, everything is reversed.

Francesca did the first row knit one, slip one wyif, repeat to the end. Knitting in the round should be slip one wyib, purl one, repeat to the end of round. The next row/round is the same for both, knit one, slip one wyif, repeat to the end. Of course, I still have to try it to see if it would really work.

3. Have to find some way to hold the last cast-on stitch in place so I won’t lose it before I get to it. Very tricky that one.

I think this can work. I’ll give it another try with the next hat project.

Look what I have here. It is an update of Kerry’s knitting. PLUS, a first showing of Kerry’s partner Clive’s current knitting project.

This is Clive’s current lace project, Rosemary Shawl, design by Gemma Ord. This is the fourth time that Clive’s knitted this shawl. He’s at the border (edging?) now, which has 120 “points”. Once that’s done, he’ll graft the ends together, then pick up 960 stitches on the inside and work toward the center. 960 stitches!!! Wow!

Here we have Kerry’s current projects. The top one is “Midwest Moonlight Scarf” from “Scarf Style“. I love the color and the design. I also have this book. Hmmm… could be a future project. Gosh, my to-do list is getting long.

The bottom one is a sock. Aija would love this. It is a pattern from the latest Knitty, “RPM“, designed by… Aija! It is looking way cool. Which yarn are you using, Kerry? Who will be wearing them?

Must be nice knitting in Australia now. Much cooler.

Our friend Kate Higgins will be performing at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood this coming Friday. Other artists include Claire Holly and Jay Matsueda. It will go from 8PM to 10PM. Kate will probably be on around 9PM. Go have a listen if you will be in the area. It’s free to get in!

I must be a homebody. I am still pooped from the weekend’s activities. Is it because of the heat? Boy, it’s been hot and muggy. High temperature is one thing. The humidity is harder to deal with. We have what they call “monsoonal moisture”. Sounds nasty, huh? This made learning spinning a little more difficult. I went to the guild meeting on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and I met lots of very friendly and very special people. I tried spinning with the spindles. But the heat and sweat made it impossible to handle the fiber to make it work for me. I also tried spinning with a wheel, and that worked out pretty well.

Sunday was the spinning class at A Mano, with John Pitblado. What a wonderful teacher. Very clear instructions from beginning to end. We learned how to spin singles and how to ply yarn. Air conditioning was on so no sweating problem there. Lots of people showed up for the class. He will be teaching at the Fabulous Fiber Fest. I think I want to sign up for the spinning wheel session.

Now the “Violets” update, and the last update. It’s done! Complete! And given to my friend!

I have to give a lot of thanks to Ted for guiding me through every step of knitting this shawl. I was very lucky that I chose a pattern that he had already knitted. He even made modification so that it was easier to knit, and prettier to look at. Sylvia mentioned how nice the transition between the violets and the river was. All Ted’s idea!

Below is a picture of “Violets” being blocked. I didn’t even notice that the wrong side was facing up. LOL

Here’s a picture showing each design element in the pattern.

I knew I would be too embarassed to ask my friend to pose for a photo in the coffeeshop where I presented the shawl. So earlier in the morning I forced my partner to put the shawl on for a snapshot. LOL Here it is.

Additional Info, 7.25.06:
Pattern: Violets by the River, by Hazel Carter
Yarn: KnitPicks’ Shadow in Sunset
Needle: INOX circular US Size 6

Here we are, the River pattern finished, the right and left sides of the triangle bound off. I really like how this looks. And it has a nice drape even though it is light weight. My partner really wants to give this to our friend Dorothy by the end of the weekend. When I was working on the “violets”, I was hearing, “Is it a violet, yet?” When I was working on the “river”, I was hearing, “Is it a river, yet?” Now I am moving on to the “Honeybee & Faggoting”, I wonder what I’ll be hearing until it is done? LOL

Below is a photo of some stitches picked up along the top of the shawl. I think it looks OK. What do you think?

Here are my newest prized possessions. The spindle on the left is a Kundert, 1.1 oz. The one on the right is “Hearts” from Woolly Designs, 1.3 oz. The fiber on the left is Colonial Multi Dark Green. The one on the right is Colonial Multi Mahogany. I believe they are both from Ashland Bay. But they’ve been repackaged, so I am not sure. I really want to get some Colonial Northern Lights.

Anyway, I am ready to spin! Guild meeting is on Saturday and I signed up for the spinning class at A Mano. Crossing my fingers!