MOVED

OMG, I've moved the blog to a new address. woohoo!
c'mon over!! update RSS feeds!!!
www.katcoyle.com

good day

The sale, last Sunday, to benefit the Wisdom Arts Laboratory, went well.
I snapped a couple of photos of things towards the end of the day.

Wisdom Arts Laboratory set on my flickr page.

art sale

click to see big

Fund raising art sale for the Wisdom Arts Lab this Sunday 1:00 to 5:00!
Participating artists: Gordon Henderson, Abira Ali, Eliza Henderson and me.

barn raising square

Knitalong author Larissa Brown is organizing a fund raiser for Doctors without Borders and needs volunteers to knit barn raising squares. Barn raising quilts will be auctioned at Sock Summit 2009. All the info you need is here.

Ethnic Knitting Exploration

I'm pleased to be a part of the blog book tour for Ethnic Knitting Exploration, the new book by author Donna Druchunas published by Nomad Press. The tour is going on all month. You can find the schedule here.


The book covers three areas of sweater knitting, raglan style sweaters from Lithuania, round yoke sweaters from Iceland and Saddle Shoulder sweaters from Ireland. Donna has created three methods for showing knitters how to make the garment of their dreams.

Option one is the visual plan which offers a schematic with indicators to all the key measurements, after you knit your swatch and decide on what size you want to make you fill in the information. This option works best for me because it is so easy to understand.

Option 2 uses planning worksheets, for those who like to plan everything in advance. Sometimes I plan everything in advance, but I do it in a more visual way. This option organizes, in a worksheet format, all the calculations needed and also explains how to do it.

Option 3 is the step-by-step project sheet; this method explains each step in the sweater making process. I like this option too because it's soothing and relaxing to have each step explained.
Overall, I found all the information given very straightforward and encouraging.

General knitting basics are covered, like how to do short row shaping and why, the different types of seaming, increasing and decreasing, how to center motifs, and knitting with two circulars. Donna includes some very useful charts: standard sizes for children, women and men, ease information, needle sizes, yarn guidelines, yarn quantities, and a few fractions to decimals to help with calculations. This is the kind of reference material needed when designing sweaters, so it’s great to have it all included in the book.


While reading the book I was inspired to start knitting a yoke sweater using yarn in my stash. It's a project that I've wanted to make for a while and Donna's book gave me the impetus to start. Instead of making a gauge swatch, I cast on stitches for a sleeve and set to knitting. I knew I wanted wide sleeves without shaping, so it seemed logical to just go ahead. There was no pre-planning with this sweater. But, that’s okay! It’s all about knitting, letting my instincts lead me while learning something new. All of this is in keeping with the spirit of Ethnic Knitting Exploration.


Around the same time I started knitting my sleeve, I received a few beautiful hand woven shirts from Guatemala. The color schemes, textures and patch together patterns are really inspiring. I don’t know if anything of those shirts will come through in my final sweater but they are a part of the creative process.

yoke sweater sketch, originally uploaded by kat coyle.

The last chapter in the book is all about cardigans. Good news for me, since I live in cardigans. This will be my first steek, and after reading about how to do it, Donna makes it sound simple. I like her style!
Check out Donna's website Sheep to Shawl, and other books here.

hats!

Last Friday was an exciting day over at the Wisdom Arts Club. Two of my students, Eliza and Ruby, finished knitting their hats!


I love all the colors in these hats. They learned how to knit in the round and how to decrease, and how to stick to a project even though it felt like it took forever. Patience! Rewards!


Eliza, did all her funky embellishments as she knit. So, the braids and flowers you see were worked in the first week. She had a story to tell about her design. It's about a magical land.


And, isn't it great how the girls wore such pretty flowery dresses on the same day.
Happy Spring!

All photos were taken by Laura Cooper. Thank you!

flowers

This is the new pattern I'm teaching to the kids to make at the Wisdom Arts Club. At first, they were intimidated, but after thirty minutes or so, they were all getting it. It's interesting how anxious students get when faced with a new challenge. I'm seeing myself in their reactions. Teaching is such a learning process for me.


The combination of red and aqua is making me so happy.



Edited to add that on this day, in 2006, I wrote my first post. It has a photo of Felix running with the wind.

buttons

Last weekend I found a box full of buttons in my mom's basement!


lucky day


exquisite


fun

infinity loop done

The mobius, infinity loop, is done!




The lace edging is worked in Colinette Jitterbug. The stripes leading up to it are alternating rows of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn and Jitterbug.


In the center, where the cast on begins, is Lorna's Laces followed by Brown Sheep WIldefoote.

I used a US#3, 40" needle and cast on a bazillion stitches. Originally, I imagined it as a wrap, but it's too long so I've been wearing it doubled as a cowl.
I love it; wear it all the time, and mysteriously, it goes with everything!

P.S. Twist Collective Spring 2009 is live and I have a pattern, the Ardent Jacket, for sale....check it out!

Valentine

Mama bird and baby bird. tweet tweet. "Will you be my valentine?"
I painted this when I was pregnant with Felix. I painted through the morning sickness and wondered about my baby. "Who are you, my love?"


Felix painted this the other day and declared it a Valentine flower. He banned me from the room while he worked, since I kept making suggestions. Good boy!

infinity continued

Knitting on the infinity loop stopped for a week or more while I was busy with a deadline....
So, when I picked up the loop I couldn't remember what stitch pattern I had used on the lace edging.

By the way, I did add the aqua/purple saturated Colinette Jitterbug to the mix. Gay said I should, and that's all I needed to go for it. I'm glad I did because for some reason all the reds and purples were depressing me. I might be too sensitive to color but anyway I feel better now that there's aqua in there.

I spent a long time reverse engineering the lace pattern. It's not complicated, but I was tired. Eventually, I figured it out and at that same moment remembered the source pattern book. I consoled myself by telling myself that now, I would never forget the stitch pattern. yeah right. Save Time, Take Notes!

One more confession, when I cast on for this project I did not count my stitches. Crazy? Yes.
Since the stitches go around both ends, knitting the lace edging is taking FOREVER. It literally feels like infinity. I tried to count the stitches but there were too many...

infinity

the mobius mind blower...
can't stop knitting this magical infinity loop...

I needed help with the cast on, so i went to the master: cat bordhi demonstrates the cast on, on YouTube.

Yarns in use, so far: Lorna’s Laces shepherd sock in the Amish color way, Noro Kureyon sock, and brown sheep wildfoote in red and purple...laying in wait is some wild Colinette Jitterbug but I don't know it's got a lot of aqua which might be too much.

key key

This was a really fun project that Felix and I worked on together. He picked out the project he wanted to make (we also made a frog but I can't find it). I drew the key on the felt and Felix cut it out. He had a hard time with the little turns on the key so I helped out with my sharp scissors. Then, he glued the pieces together and drew the face. I showed him how to sew. He did pretty good with some guidance but he got tired quickly so I finished it. We were able to complete the project quickly and he's been wearing the key as a necklace ever since.
The pattern, or directions are in the book Cute Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo.





Next, he wants to make a bag and decorate it with cute faces. I wish I had a good stash of wool felt. We used the cheap craft felt from Michaels and it's not holding up. I'm having a hard time (it's expensive) ordering the good stuff. On the other hand, I'm sure it's worth it, since the projects will be made with the best materials...something I believe in.

radiant sun cuff

What do you think, should I add spiral fringe to this cuff?

p.s. Happy Inauguration Day!

dog house

For Christmas, I knit Felix a little dog toy. The pattern is (ravelry link): little black dog by Suvi S. (blog) 50 villabeikkoa (flickr) little black dog
yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock yarn #S188


He LOVES this little pup, and named him Shaggy. Only problem was he kept misplacing Shaggy, so he and his dad made a dog house. They used a cardboard box, glue and paint.




Shaggy's house has a handle for easy carrying. We took him to lunch the other day. Felix is playing a video game with Casey. Casey from Ravelry.


And, here is Shaggy hanging out in the garden at home.

crochet cuffs

This piece is one of my favorites. I'm going to make more pieces with this motif, a pin, hair clip, another cuff. Part of me wants to tell you about the inspiration for it but it's such a sad, true story that I am at a loss for words.


The woman who goes for a Rainbow goth look is the inspiration for these two. I might fall into that category (this week).

close up

...of the leaf pendant and button on the long crochet necklace from the previous post.


the button closure


the whole piece
Click on the photos to see them bigger.

2009!!!

Happy New Year!

We're having a heat wave this week and look who came to visit, a wee tomato with a few tomato friends.

It's almost too warm this afternoon, to wear this long necklace! Ah, California winter so brief, so sweet.


My son took the blurry photo. It's better than the ones in focus. The fuzzy mood fits the post.
Below is a collection of chokers and a pair of wrist cuffs.


Once, I started making these I couldn't stop. I still have enough yarn from one skein of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn to make more. woohoo!