Over the weekend I fulled the swatches from Wednesday's post, with only equivocal success. The washing machine in this house isn't very good. As you can see, there's a little fuzzing, some uneven shrinkage, and no loss of stitch definition, even after trips through the wash/dry cycle with all six of the family's weekly loads.


Swatch 1: Double strand, knit on US #10.5, 3.75 spi, 8 rpi. 15 stitches cast on.

• Pre-wash: 12mm wide x 10mm long.
• Post-wash: 10.5mm wide x 9.5mm long

Swatch 2: Double strand, knit on US #11, 3 spi, 6 rpi. 15 stitches cast on.

• Pre-wash: 13.5mm wide x 11mm long.
• Post-wash: 11.5mm wide x 9mm long. Very distorted

Swatch 3: Double strand, knit on US #13, 2.75 spi, 5 rpi. 15 stitches cast on.

• Pre-wash: 14.5mm x 12mm long
• Post-wash: 12.5mm wide x 9.5mm long

Swatch 4: Single strand, knit on US #10, 4 spi, 9 rpi. 18 stitches cast on.

• Pre-wash: 12.5mm wide x 10mm long.
• Post-wash: 10mm wide x 8.5 (to 11)mm long. Most distorted of all
  

Swatch 5: Single strand, knit on US #9, 4.2 spi, 10 rip. 18 stitches cast on.

• Pre-wash: 13mm wide x 9mm long
• Post-wash: 10.25mm wide x 8.5mm long

As to texture - all of the swatches firmed up somewhat. There was very little difference in drape between #4 and #5, although of the two, #4 was the more fulled. It had spots where the stitches were almost melded together. Unfortunately it was also the most unevenly treated, to the point where getting an accurate measurement on it was very difficult.

I was surprised at how the heavier two-strand swatches turned out. I really expected to see more shrinkage, and a tighter, denser fabric with less stitch definition. While they're nice and dense, I haven't lost the corrugation of the original garter stitch. I also expected the swatches knit on larger needles to shrink more in relation to their original size than the ones on smaller needles.

I wouldn't consider any of the results I got suitable for producing a knitted bag, but I also don't think my swatches have fulled to their limit. I am going to try again tonight, working by hand with a pot of boiling water and a pot of ice water, and see what I come up with.

One aside - the color in today's swatch photos is much more accurate than the earlier photo.

Still plugging along. Progress will stall though after this for a bit as I have some rather intensive fulling and knitting on the Mystery Project to accomplish.



As you can see, I'm missing a couple of solid triangles left and right of the motif at the lower right, but the final result is becoming increasingly more clear. I like the play of the large starry areas and the solid white bits. Seaming is a pain, it's true - but not so big a pain as I thought it would be. Of course I've got a zillion ends at this point. I may just take the odd moments of this week I can spare from the Mystery Project and end off as many as possible. That would be productive yet mindless work that could be done in stolen time.

Although I was out of town tending to family matters last weekend, knitting was accomplished - mostly on the flights and in the airports as I waited between planes. In addition to yesterday's swatches, I did some work on my counterpane.



As you can see there's a pie slice that's missing from the leftmost motif. My guess is that my missing triangle is now loose in the Orlando airport - a stopover on my way to my final destination. I doubt my feral triangle will cause more than a moment's pause as it is swept up and tossed away. So it goes.

As this piece grows larger, I can say I've definitely overbought my white cotton coned yarn. I have four enormous cones. I've gone through about a third of just one of them. I think I'll end up using just two of them to make the whole thing. Here's consumption so far. The untouched cone on the left weighs 1250g. It's the smallest of the four, with the others ranging up to about 1300g. The nibbled into cone on the right weighs 825g, and started out at around 1300g. Which all makes sense because my blanket so far weighs about 475g. (It's always pleasing when the math actually works out).



Since I've got about 20% of my estimated total surface area done, but have used only about 8.3% of my yarn (a third of one of four cones - roughly a 1/12 of my total available yarn), I'll have LOTS leftover. Still, I don't mind. It's nice yarn and there will be enough for another project (perhaps another counterpane). As an added bonus, the stuff was a very inexpensive back room find at Webs. I paid about $10 per cone for it. Since this project will last for about eight months at the current rate of production and I anticipate using only two cones, that works out to $2.50 per month of knitting enjoyment. It doesn't get any more economical than that.

How to knit on the cheap?? Don't buy what's trendy. Big fat yarns and glitzy yarns command a premium, but plain finish yarns, even first quality good wools and cottons can be had at very reasonable prices (even without resorting to reclaiming yarn).

Think smaller gauges. This stuff isn't particularly small being very close to DK weight (5.5spi), but even DK is lighter than many of the more favored yarns today. And think of? projects that get their zing from the knitting rather than from the yarn. Yes, they take a bit more time and attention than some plainer pieces, but isn't the entire idea to have fun knitting? No, if you are on a limited budget you won't be able to knit that fancy fulled cardigan from imported Japanese hand-dyed, but I bet with a little effort you could find a 100% wool sport weight yarn that would make a smashing texture stitch or stranded colorwork jacket and not break the bank - especially if you consider how many weeks of knitting time you'd get by investing in such a project.

I've decided while I can't write about everything, there are some bits of my Mystery Project that I can discuss. Especially in the early stages. I've already said that it's a commission for Classic Elite, and that it's going to be fulled.

Here is my first set of swatches:



That's a lot of swatches!

I'm using CE Renaissance. It's a 100% wool worsted weight yarn. It's got quite a bit of loft due to it's three-ply construction, and the maker's gauge is expressed in a range - from 5spi on US#7 (4.5mm) to 4.5spi on US #8 (5mm). My direction is to make a very firm fulled fabric, so I've made three garter stitch swatches from double strand and two garter stitch swatches from single strand. Here are the pre-wash specs:

Swatch 1: Double strand, knit on US #10.5, 3.75 spi, 8 rpi. 15 stitches cast on. Total dimension: 12mm wide x 10mm long.

Swatch 2: Double strand, knit on US #11, 3 spi, 6 rpi. 15 stitches cast on. Total dimension: 13.5mm wide x 11mm long.

Swatch 3: Double strand, knit on US #13, 2.75 spi, 5 rpi. 15 stitches cast on. Total dimension: 14.5mm x 12mm long

Swatch 4: Single strand, knit on US #10, 4 spi, 9 rpi. 18 stitches cast on. Total dimension: 12.5mm wide x 10mm long.

Swatch 5: Single strand, knit on US #9, 4.2 spi, 10 rip. 18 stitches cast on. Total dimension: 13mm wide x 9mm long

Although I used up a whole skein plus part of another in swatching, it's worth it. Note that I've got not quite a straight progression, but enough of a gauge and texture difference to make the experiment worthwhile. The plan is now to full these as much as possible, then compare the final dimension with the pre-wash measurements. That will allow me to figure out what my knitted dimensions need to be to achieve a post-full target measurement. I'll also get to see how both row and stitch measurements change (important as knitting does not shrink uniformly in both dimensions. I'll also find out which of my gauges produces the best fulled fabric for my purpose. Washing will happen later this week. Stay tuned!

How do I know which swatch is which? See those knots in the cast-on tails? That's how they're numbered. With luck those knots will still be discernible after fulling.

I think I've mentioned that I've done some minor design work for Classic Elite. I know that some people are curious about how the pro design thing works. Bearing in mind that my experience isn't typical, this is how it's been for me.

I'm not a first-stringer. In general, I don't pursue the company by submitting design proposals. I'd say I'm more of a third-stringer. They call me with specific assignments based on ideas or inspirations generated by others - usually at last minute. My guess is that I get called when more famous and prolific names are overbooked; when embroidery is involved; or when deadline crises are afoot. That's o.k. by me, as I don't have the time/energy to devote to knit design as a full career path. I've also done some contract knitting, crocheting and embroidering for them, producing finished items based on other people's designs, and in the process proofing (or fleshing out) the pattern's early drafts.

What have I done lately? Nothing big, that's for certain. The current collections include two of mine.



This is a hat and mittens set (I'm not responsible for the sweater jacket). This assignment was mildly challenging - take one skein of the bulky (almost superbulky) luxury yarn Tigress and work up an adult hat and mittens set that's easy to knit. Since 200g of Tigress is only 181 yards this was a squeeze. I managed it though, with a very simple rolled brim hat with some garter ridge details, plus a matching rolled cuff basic mitten. I have to say I am not a fan of big-needle knitting and won't be making another set, but my 14 year old loved the hat and mitts and was loathe to send them off when I was done.

This one was both easier and more difficult:


This assignment was to create a striped hat/wristlets/scarf set using yarns of two different weights, but of the same fiber composition and dyed in the same colors. The yarns didn't have names attached when I was using them, but I think they've been dubbed "Princess" and "Duchess" since. My homework was to take as inspiration a series of photos showing striped knitting adorned by looped embroidery stitches. In truth, I don't remember which pieces use which weight yarns (the submission deadline was back in the Spring), but I do remember trying to plan the pieces to make the most efficient use of the yarn. Again, simplicity and beginner-friendliness were the marching orders. These use plain old seed stitch. The hat and wristlets were knit in the round. The looped embroidery stitches aren't difficult to do, and are (of course) optional. You have to **love** seed stitch though as there are miles of it in the scarf. Of the two yarns, I did like working with Princess (the worsted weight version). I didn't retain any (see below) and I don't have the finished item, so I can't comment on durability or washablity. Duchess was also nice, but I'm not fond of heavier weight yarns in general.

Past projects I've done include a long striped scarf in Bazic, ornamented with pattern darning and fringed down one long side. The photo of that one in the pattern leaflet didn't show the embroidery, so I have no idea if anyone was ever inspired enough to try it. I also did a series of nesting baskets crocheted in a very heavy cotton yarn a couple of summers back. I've worked on other projects as well.

I'm sure people have lots of questions about the design process. I'll try to head some off here:

For real?? They say what to make, and you just make it?

For me that's how it's been. Real designers with lengthy portfolios and industry-wide reputations must have more latitude.

How do I get involved? How can I get my stuff published?

Yarn makers and magazines have design guidelines (by issue for the magazines). Look them up and submit written proposals outlining your idea. Make sure your idea includes a sample swatch, and enough info to make it intelligible to someone else. This may mean lots of sketches and schematics. It does NOT include sending a whole finished garment. Be prepared for hundreds of rejections before an acceptance. Also be prepared to feel like you've tossed your ideas into A Great Black Hole. Also, your proposals will not be returned unless you include return envelopes and postage (another reason not to send full garments at this stage). You WILL be taken more seriously if you've got a "knitting resume" behind you. That might mean a track record of publication elsewhere (a chicken or egg problem). I do note that some of the on-line venues are a bit more welcoming of submissions than are the yarn houses or paper mags. They might be a good place to start. (Oh, and if like me you've ever been a burr under the saddle of any publisher or maker at any time in the past, you can pretty much forget about placing anything in their venue.)

In general after you submit your proposal it's mulled over for a while. If it's selected, you get your marching orders to proceed, plus a contract outlining what you owe (written design or written design and finished sample), the number and range of sizes the item needs to be written for, specifications for the exact yarn and possibly even the color desired by the publisher, and the deadline for submission. Be warned:? that deadline may be as little as two weeks away, and may involve a yarn that requires you to recalculate your entire design, so advance knitting is not always entirely productive. The deadline cycle is the main reason why I don't try to do this on a professional basis. I just can't commit to doing anything major to hard, short deadline.

How much does it pay?

Not much. Even though it is taxable income (reported under "Miscellaneous" or as a home business), if you work out the hours invested in proposing, designing, drafting, swatching, test-knitting, pattern writing, and proofing you'll quickly figure out that you'll be working at less than minimum wage. Way less.

Do you get free yarn or get to keep the finished item?

Yes and no. If you work for a yarn company directly like I did, they do send more than enough yarn to make the project. But under contract, I'm obligated to return any leftovers and swatches, so I don't get to keep any. i also don't get to keep the finished item - that's the photo shoot/trunk show/demonstration model and gets returned to the pattern publisher as part of the agreed-upon deliverables. The sample belongs to the publisher, not the knitter, even though the knitter worked on it.

It's worth noting that not every designer knits up his or her own samples, some subcontract out. Others just do the design and the publisher arranges for the sample to be knit as a separate contract. Also, if you're knitting for some other entity than a yarn maker, you might have to buy the yarn yourself and factor that into your total contract price.

You sell-out. Isn't this a big commercial for CE stuff?

I don't think so. They're not paying me to push these patterns, and I don't get extra for increased sales. Plus I rather doubt that anyone is going to buy anything based on this rather non-gushy blog entry. I have also recused myself from posting any reviews of Classic Elite products on wiseNeedle since my very first professional interaction with them. I'm mulling this policy over though, as not all of my experiences with their products have been uniformly joyous. Still, I thought the general experience might be of interest to some.

Why are you talking about this now?

Because I've just gotten another assignment from Classic Elite. All I can say about it is that fulling and embroidery are both involved. It's going to kill me not to be able to blog about this particular design process real-time because there will be all sorts of lessons learned on the way. So please be patient with me. There won't be much counterpane progress until this has passed, and I'll be scampering around looking for other things to write about. Suggestions there are welcome.

There are an awful lot of people in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and possibly points further north who will be needing an awful lot of help in the coming days, weeks, and months. And I'm not talking about knitting socks or hats for them either.

If you can afford it, consider donating money to the relief efforts just getting started to assist people affected by Hurricane Katrina. Here's a link full of legitimate charties that can funnel aid to people in need.

UPDATE:

Unless you have a personal contact at someplace that's sheltering refugees, and a guaranteed way to get stuff to them (NOT US Mail, UPS, FedEx or chartered truck) - donate money instead of trying to send goods. Think about it. There's no infrastructure to distribute goods, and there's a far greater need for the assistance personnel down there to do search and rescue, transport of the vulnerable, wounded or sick, than there is for them to sort donated items for distribution.

More places accepting money donations:
American Red Cross
United Way

Still plugging along on the counterpane, at the approximate rate of one meta-motif per week. Week seven ends with this accumulation, shown on the top of the bed that it will (eventually) grace:



As you can see in spite of having completed one circuit, there's still a long way to go:



I still stick by my estimate of approximately 26 motifs (plus half motifs) to get good coverage for my queen-size bed. I might take a break this week though and use my knit-time to tend the ever growing forest of ends. That's 36 ends per meta-motif. Plus 12 more for the solid triangles shown above. Plus two more from finding and cutting a knot out of my yarn. So I've already got about 50 ends to deal with in the fragment shown above. Which should keep me busy for a bit...

The idea I hinted at yesterday has to do with magnetic boards. It's not something I can make at home, but it's a set of improvements I'd like to see made.
To recap, the standard issue magnetic board is very useful and very inexpensive, but it has some shortcomings.

Boughten

Scavenged

LoRan appears to be the leading (possibly only) seller of magnetic boards. LoRan appears to have been bought by or is marketing through the Dritz line of sewing and crafting notions. LoRan boards come in several configurations. Some have easel backs, so they stand up on their own. Some of the easel backed ones have small pencil-holding ledges along their bottom edge. Sizes appear to be 6"x10", 8"x10", and 12"x18". There are also supplemental accessories including separately packaged easel stands, plain gray metal/plastic magnet bars, magnetic bars with rulers printed on them, see-through magnifying magnet bars, and special packaged bundles of the base model boards plus accessories. There are also "after market" vendors that sell other types of place-marking magnets/magnifiers for use with magnetic boards.

My problem with the LoRan line are:

1. That it does a lousy job of protecting the charts while the work is in progress. I didn't realize exactly how lousy a job until I began using my improvised solution. The largest LoRan size is bigger than I need for 99.9% of my knitting charts. But the two smaller sizes are smaller than standard US 8x11" paper (or the standard Euro A4 size of 210x297cm, for that matter). Charts put on the boards get bashed up - even if both the board and the page are slipped into a page protector. This damage is especially bad if the board/chart combo is stuffed into knitting bags in between working sessions. My el cheapo scavenged cookie pan's raised rim did an excellent job of keeping my project together and unrumpled, and keeping the magnets in place in between uses.

2. The boards are flimsy and prone to bending and denting. Once they are no longer flat magnets have a more difficult time sticking. Again, my cookie sheet was thicker and (for non-cooking purposes at least) resisted warping and denting better than the commercial product.

3. The magnets are wimpy, and can't grab through more than a page or two, or are easily displaced in between working sessions. This one is a balancing act. There are incredibly strong magnets out there, but they would be difficult to move while working. Finding just the right amount of stick to stay put when needed and still be easy to move when necessary is difficult. Even more so when you remember that for most low adherence magnets, the magnetism slowly dissipates over time. What worked last year might be less useful this year. My cut up promotional fridge magnets did a fine job through up to two sheets of paper, but I like to keep all the pages of a pattern together when I'm working. I'd want something a bit stronger, perhaps something that could stick through a plastic protective cover, plus three sheets of paper, but not necessarily something thicker. The thicker the magnet, the more difficult it is to read Think thick rulers vs. thin rulers. Thick rulers are visually offset from what they are measuring, making taking accurate measurements more difficult.

What I want is something like this:



Wouldn't it be nifty if that transparent magnet-through plastic cover was a full-sheet magnifier page?

Now, how much more would I pay for something like this above and beyond the flimsy market standard? Not sure. If the least expensive packaging of the LoRan 8x10 sells for about $5.00 US (more or less), I'd pay around $15 for something this elaborate, provided the quality of the piece was commensurate with the price.

Remember - if you see this product for sale out there, you saw the idea here first. [grin]

Innovation Update

Kate from the UK has sent a lead on something that's even better than the narrow sticky notes I wrote about yesterday. She points us at removable, translucent highlighter tape.



It's inexpensive. Even better, it comes in several widths and lots of colors, and is packaged as either sheets of removable strips or in dispensers like adhesive tape. From a quick product search, it appears to be most widely used by teachers and professors for book highlighting, and by pilots for annotating aviation charts. A Google search on "highlighter tape" or "highlight tape" turns up a bunch of sources. Here are several sources that has a pretty complete listing of the available form factors (no affiliation):

http://www.windmillworks.com/catalog/c1_p1.html
http://www.crystalspringsbooks.com/products.asp?dept=333
http://www.avidaviator.com/tape.html

Some advantages include transparency - being able to "look ahead" in your pattern without displacing the mark, and availability in assorted colors. Why colors? Two reasons. First, some charts come in color. One might need to find a contrasting highlight to avoid "wiping out" one or more colors shown on the chart. Second, I'm no educational or visual perception theorist, but I know there are people who find reading much easier if they view pages through colored filters. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the chart-shy have perceptual wiring that would benefit from using color highlights, too.

I'll be looking for this stuff to try out.

More goodies in office supply stores

I've written about knitting tools that can be found in hardware stores. Now this train of thought takes me on another mental shopping trip - tools that can be found in office supply stores. Some are obvious:

• Drawing/drafting supplies - rulers, protractors, French curves, graph paper, tape measures, cartographer's measures (people who do full scale dimensioned drawings and slopers might find these useful)
  
• Calculators of all sorts
  
• Filing supplies - sheet protectors, binder and loose files
• Tote bags - Some of the smaller computer bags and the not-quite-briefcases meant for file-toting road warriors make excellent stealth knitting bags.
• Organizers - In-drawer, in-briefcase, and desktop organizers can be handy to corral knitting doodads
• Typing stands - Great for propping up charts or leaflets
  

Some are less obvious. Here's a smattering of the latter:



Transparencies - clear plastic pages that can be run through printers or copying machines. Need to grid up a picture or photo? Print a transparent sheet up with a graphed lines in the same height:width ratio as your knitting gauge. Lay that clear line-printed sheet over the image you want to transcribe to knitting. Voila! Instant knitting graph.

Circular paper clips - Instant stitch markers.

Check files - Yet another possible solution for storing those circs.

Tomorrow - another wish list item.