Planning and Research

Did I touch the yarn last week? That would again be a no.

But, I really need to get going on some sort of project. Hopefully this week won't be as enervating as last week was. 

I did pull out my start: 

And I thought about ripping it back. The turning the circle into an oval didn't quite work out mathematically. It's a simple process where at one end I make the tallest stitch I can, and then I step them down into the shortest stitch. Then I build back up. And repeat for the second side. 

Somehow I ended up a stitch short. 

Of course, since I'm not doing an eye here, I could just start with an oval...

This is the thing that makes designing hard. So many choices. And I'm not sure what I want to do. So, today I'm just looking through some ideas to see what might spark. 

The original eye I found on this video: 

The only issue with this sweater is that this designer then squared off the oval and turned it into a square. The picture my niece found had a sweater that stayed kind of circular. And my sister-in-law wants me to duplicate that shape. 

So, why don't I just duplicate niece's sweater? Sister-in-law is a different size. 

I then ran across this video: 

Which is fun. But, I don't have two colors, and again, she squared things up at the end. 

Or I could just start with an oval: 

But how do I keep the oval going? I did a lot of guesswork on niece's sweater. Oh, here's something that might help (funny what I find when I start looking): 

But I rather like the idea of starting with a circle, elongating it so it becomes an oval, and then keeping the oval going until the piece is as big as I want it. 

So, decisions made. It's amazing how writing it out does help. 

I'll rip back to the circle, and then sit down and get that circle turned into an oval. And keep the oval going. Which was what I had planned in the first place, but I'm having some trouble executing it. 

In case you weren't around two years ago, this is the sweater that I made for my niece: 

And this was the picture she found that she wanted me to duplicate: 

Wish me luck figuring out the oval part.

Frogger

I keep talking about the project that I don't want to talk about, mostly because I'm not working on anything else at the moment. However, there are a couple projects currently in the planning and acquiring materials phase, so I'll have something more interesting soon. 

I am writing this post on Sunday afternoon. Last night, I had gotten to this point in the experiment...

This is upside down and inside out.

...when I realized that I'm not happy with it. I've been pushing through for a day or two, but last night I owned up to how much I'm forcing this. So, I'm going to frog it. 

Well, not the whole thing... 

I'm just going to frog it back to where I started the decreases. 

The plan is to rip back past where the "seams" start. It's hard to tell in the image, but they're really rather a mess. 

If I had done more planning, I might have figured out a way to knit that neater. This is why I don't design on the needles too much. I end up with things like this. 

Anyway, by the time you read this, that seam will be gone (or very nearly--it might take me a day or two to prep the frogging). 

I'm not a fan of grafting, but I think that will make this whole thing work better. And it'll give me another out if I happen to lose at this round of yarn chicken. (I've made a contingency plan.) 

Hopefully, the yarn I ordered for niece's birthday present (she finally told me what she wanted, and it's not in a color or fiber I have on hand) will have arrived, and I'll have pretty pictures of a tank top to show you.

Paradigm Shift

In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn argued that "progress" only happens when the prevailing theory, the current paradigm, is so beset with anomalies that a new model or theory needs to supplant it.

I finally "finished" my iPad holder:

Well, sort of.

The idea behind it was to make it like one of those foldy ones you can buy. I had gotten most of it done the last time I wrote about it. All that was left was to attach some elastic to hold the iPad in...

...which I finally completed. And it works, sort of...

The problem is, it doesn't hold it well. When I tip this up, the iPad slides downwards, making the elastic at the top superfluous. And when the thing is folded over, the iPad doesn't feel secure inside.

So, I pondered the problem last week. I could sew the elastic tighter. I could replace the elastic with corners of fabric. Perhaps another strip of fabric going across the iPad...

And that's when I realized that this was enough. I was done.

It's like a scientific theory that's had one too many ad hoc hypotheses added on. At some point you've got to trash it and start over with a simpler version.

The case I have for my Nook is nice. It works. I've had no issues with it.

I can do something similar to that for my iPad.

After pondering some more, I think I'm just going to rip out the fabric backing and elastic from what I've already knit. I'll sew up the sides. And voila, I'm done.

It was a nice experiment, but it failed. I learned something very important from it. Trying to make one of those foldy things is not worth the effort.

Progress of a Sort

Back in April, I posted this picture...

...and I promised to explain when I had more of it finished.

Surprisingly, I've been making quite a bit of progress on it lately. (I thank my little Arctic Air cooler. It keeps me cool enough so that my hands don't sweat which normally at this time of year curtails most of my knitting projects.) I have almost finished three panels...

I'm making a windmill bag.

I saw this image on Instagram almost a year ago. And I was entranced. I could do that. All I needed was four long rectangles.

I started it in November. I got as far as you see in the first picture. I set it aside to work on Christmas and whatever else, not picking it up again until about two weeks ago. And since then, I've finished what you see above. (Well, by the time you read this, three panels will be done, and I will have started on the fourth.)

It's coming along. I may finish this sooner rather than later.

I also got some more pictures of the blue walking purse...

These are more so the scale of it is apparent...

And...

A close up...

What do you think? Do these images give a good idea of the scale?

I was going to model them, but getting someone to photograph me wearing it wasn't working out. And I couldn't find a model. (It'd be easier for me to take the pictures as I know how I want them to look.) So, this was the next best thing.

It's amazing how long it's taking me to do anything with my projects lately. I'll blame the heat.

Knitted Case Progress

I have not touched my mini iPad case in a while...

What mini iPad case, you ask? Yeah, it's been a while since I mentioned it. A recap:

• Designing Woes: where I showed off the first couple inches of the piece
• My Knitting Whoops: where I pointed out a mistake I made (that many of you couldn't see)
• Contemplating Next Steps: where I showed off the finished piece, without edging

Since then, I did crochet an edging. I even took pictures, which is hiding in some file or other. (I don't remember what I blogged about that week instead. Probably the donut.) 

The above shot has the case folded up. That's what it looks like at the moment. On the inside...

The gray is fabric that I sewed down. Inside the gray fabric is a posterboard backing (with duct tape along the edges to keep things smooth...

...and a gap so that the posterboard can be removed in case I want to throw the whole thing in the wash.

The next step is to figure out how I want to position elastic to keep the iPad attached, and then to sew that down.

You can't tell from these photos, but there is a buttonhole on one edge, so I'll need to sew on the button as well.

I had thought of sewing in more of a lining, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do that now. I'll have to see how I feel after sewing in the elastic and sewing on the button.

As before, it's a work in progress. And it's been a bit too hot to think, so not much progress is being made.

Although, I had the brilliant idea of sewing in fabric that is as stretchy as the knitted fabric. Can you see the ribbing on the fabric? That means that the whole thing has a bit of give. It's lovely. 

Designing Woes

The walking purse again... 

I got out the lightbox and played a bit with the backdrop. Why did I wait so long to get a lightbox? It's sooooo much easier to get stuff lit well. 

I photographed the purse again, because I finally finished lining it... 

And now it's done. 

Because I was asked, the purse is 6 inches wide by 4 inches deep. It'll fit a larger smartphone. (That's what it was specifically designed to hold.) The strap is about 36 inches long. All of these measurements are approximate as the purse has a little give, and the strap does stretch a bit. 

(I have no idea what to price this at. $45 feels like too much, but $25 feels way too cheap. Let me know what you would be willing to pay for it. Don't worry, I won't expect you to buy it. 😧 Although, if you want me to make one for you, let me know. We can negotiate.) 

And now I'm on to designing something new... 

It's going to be a cover/case for a mini iPad. I'd explain what I plan to do, but it's rather involved, and I'm kind of making it up as I go. So, I'll let you all follow along as I work it. It'll be interesting to see if it turns out how I'm seeing it, if it goes in a different direction, or if I end up frogging and doing something completely different. 

The joy of designing... One never knows if it'll go according to plan. 

For Pretty

Some things really have no good reason for existing. Like this...

It serves absolutely no purpose. But I decided I really, really wanted a lacy knitted thing to put over my water bottle, so I made it.

And I like it. So much so that I'm going to make another just for the other water bottle I have. Eventually.

How I came up with this thing is a long story. Luckily, most of the steps along the way have been documented on this blog.

It starts because I carry water with me to school daily. I carried water with me to my job before this as well (so, we're talking 20+ years). I like my water cold. So, I would freeze it the night before. And this worked, for a while...

But eventually, I discovered that the only way to make sure cracking water bottles weren't an issue was to not freeze water in water bottles. (The comment in that post came from my brother. I took his advice.)

But as one water bottle wasn't enough, I still had a bottle that would "sweat" during the day. And that's when I started putting something over the bottle.

I stopped using that bottle (for various reasons), but I liked having my little cozy on the water bottle that didn't need a cozy. Then I started thinking. Since it was just for decoration, I could go wild and make something just for show. But what did I want that to look like?

I've been pondering this for a year. Or two. I'm not sure. I can take a while to work on something when I'm thinking about it.

This July, I finally got around to designing it. After two or three false starts (read: ripping it out and starting over), I finally finished it just in time to start off a new school year. Hooray!

I bought the yarn for my second attempt. We'll see how long it takes me to get to it.

On Second Thought

A couple weeks ago I mentioned my failure to reproduce this...

...in knitting. But a funny thing happened last week...

I was perusing Ravelry for no good reason. Like I do sometimes, I decided to check out the pattern page for my first eReader pillow pattern. I like to see all the different variations people have tried. 

As I went through, I came across jennerf27's iPad stand/prop pillow. She didn't use the pattern. It was more of a jumping off point to design something new. And she did something rather interesting. To keep the device standing she didn't use bobbles or an I-cord. She used a pocket. 

And my mind went whirling. 

Because I thought a pocket might just work on my little knitted scroll. And it did. Sort of. 

It's not exactly what I envisioned. I wanted more of a scroll. And the angle is a bit off. But it works. 

I'll tinker with it a bit more. This was just a proof of concept anyway. Still, I'm excited that it wasn't a complete failure. 

(This weekend I saw Tim's Vermeer, and I'm just grateful that this little idea didn't take me five years to complete.)

Design Fail

Because I searched out cell phone stands on Etsy (looking at the competition) for...

...I get like items "suggested". And the other day, this popped up...

...and I was fascinated. Those are ceramic scrolls. Isn't that cool? (If you click on the picture, it'll take you to the listing.)

Then my brain engaged, and I thought, "I wonder if I could knit something like that?" 

Turns out, right now, the answer is no. Because I've tried. Knit a long strip. Rolled it up. But the ereader (I made it bigger to fit my Nook) will not stay put. 

Deep sigh. 

I'm not sure what else I need to make this work. Maybe it won't work. I'm open to hearing any ideas. 

Not Fixing Mistakes

There is something kind of fun about ripping out a project. I have to block out thoughts about how long it took to make those stitches and turn the whole thing into kind of a Zen exercise. Impermanence, kind of like those sand gardens.

Once I'd fully ripped out the Yaddo Cardigan and the yarn was wound into balls, I felt a pang of regret. I so wanted a lightweight cardigan, something that could take me from fall to spring.

Which meant that I needed to find a pattern that wasn't going to make me crazy while knitting or crocheting it.

I went on a pattern search. But nothing hit me in the right way. It was too heavy. Too easy. The wrong shape. I wasn't finding my Goldilocks pattern, so I set the search aside. And that's when it hit me.

I could design my own.

There's this pattern stitch that I found in a stitch dictionary a long time ago that I've been itching to try. But no project has been right for it. Until now.

But, before I can knit a sweater, I have to figure out a bunch of things. And before I can do that math, I need to make a gauge swatch. So, I cast on a bunch of stitches and began knitting.

I think I was on row two when I realized that I used the wrong decrease stitch. Normally, I'd rip back to that point and fix it. But I had an epiphany. This was a practice swatch. I had no reason to fix any mistake.

Scary, but freeing.

Because I'm a bit of a perfectionist, at least with my knitting. I know a myriad of ways to go back to fix my mistakes. I've been known to rip out half a project when something has gone terribly wrong.

But there's no reason to fix a practice swatch. None. No one's going to see it. I'm never going to wear it. Why spend the time fixing a mistake in an object that doesn't need to be perfect?

Then two rows later I made some indeterminate error, and my stitch count was off. I ripped back before I realized what I was doing. Never did find the mistake, but I did manage to get the stitch count right, and I continued on.

So, the swatch is a mess, but I'm making fewer mistakes now. And soon, I'll have a pretty good idea of how to work this into a sweater.

What do you think? Can you see all the mistakes?