Getting lessons from an old timer...

While I am all about the appropriation of knitting and making something new with it, I cannot help but nod to our grandmothers, who kept the art alive for us.
This is my father's aunt, who has made many socks for me over the years...
I was curious how she makes them though because they did not look like the ones I see in pattern books in the US. This summer, while I was in Greece I got her to teach me how to do it while I was videotaping it. She starts from the toes and goes up and the heel looks a bit pointy. I think that is the way all women in Greece make socks. They may look a little weird but they are just as comfortable....

Crochet coasters

This is how I practiced different crochet stitches. I was too bored of just making swatches and I was really confused about all the different crochet stitches. So I grabbed a book with all the stitch instructions and picked a few patterns that use a variety of stitches and voila! The result is a useful item, plus almost instant gratification. Now I am not scared of a pattern that uses double or treble crochet anymore!!!

Pattern can be found here.

Pattern.


Pattern.

I made all of them with a cheap worsted weight cotton yarn like Sugar n' Cream.

Toasty Mittens

So, this winter turned out to be every bit as bad as the last one so when the temperature hit several degrees Celsius below zero, I knew I needed mittens. And not just any mittens, I realized that the ones I had were not warm enough for this temperature so I HAD to make new ones and fast! Even though I like shopping as much as anyone, I try to reduce my consumption and use what I have, so I raided my stash and came up with this gorgeous hand-dyed wool yarn I had from Ecuador. Too itchy to use for a hat or scarf but great for mittens. I had never made mittens before but it turned out to be much easier than I expected. I used a pattern called Gauntlet Mittens from the book Speed Knitting and used my yarn double throughout. It took a few hours over the weekend to make them and by Monday I had these great mittens to wear at work! The cuff is a pain to make (maybe because of the bulkiness of the project, not sure) but it's gorgeous - it looks like it's woven!!! I liked these so much that I made a pair for my husband with a different yarn and a "manlier" cuff!

I love my new mittens more than anything I would have bought in a store and they are super warm!

Last Christmas' Skull Sweater

I knit this pattern from the DomiKNITrix book for my husband last Christmas. It was the hardest project I have ever made (I must say I don't like intarsia) but the result was very satisfying. I used some wool yarn I had bought in Ecuador in the summer of 2007. Not very luxurious, it's rather itchy actually, but very, very warm! I used the 6mm needles that she suggests but knit it flat. I also remember there was a mistake in the pattern for the arm, which I figured out too late and had to unravel the whole thing... Oh well, that taught me to check for book errata online before I start a project!

And here is a picture of my husband wearing it! I think it's really cute.

Radical Crochet

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Radical Knitting

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Knitting and crochet are beginning to appear in the most unlikely places!

Subversive knitting

I always thought any form of DIY is subversive. If you think that knitting is for grannies, think again! Even though I believe that grannies can teach us a thing or two about knitting!

In this blog I want to share my thoughts about knitting and my projects as I like to share in general...

I knitted my first project when I was very young, a blanket for my doll. I didn't do much after that mainly because I bought into the BS that knitting is uncool and because I had no supplies.

My first contact with a subversive use of knitting was an exhibition of Grayson Perry's work in Amsterdam, where he used traditionally female techniques like embroidery and knitting to convey his message.

A couple of years ago a friend showed me how to crochet and I remembered how much I liked knitting as a process. Soon thereafter I started knitting compulsively. It wasn't always a zen experience but it was satisfying and I managed to create some usable items that I will be featuring in this blog. I still pretty much follow the patterns for now, until I am experienced enough to design my own creations.