EZ Seamless Hybrid: Finished

The sweater that brought me to frustration at each and every turn, cursing like a sailor at times, cast aside until I could bear to look at it again...the first and only time I have ever run out of yarn...gauge problems...techniques that were foreign to me...panicked emails to strangers on Ravelry...you name it, it happened here with this item that I had intended to knit with love for my husband. It was knit with a lot of teeth-gnashing and anguish.

Actually there was a lot of fear also. Fear that the finished garment, which had so delighted in torturing me, would not even actually fit the wearer the way the artist envisioned it. So part of my reticence to finish it, though I was eager to be done with the blasted thing, was the dread that it would continue to torture me in perpetuity because I would be staring a big, ugly, ill-fitting mistake in the face. Forever. Because of course he would have to wear it, even if it fit like an elephant wearing baggy tights.

Fortunately, I was wrong. The sweater fits Mr. Crafty as though it were made for him---ha! It was! I'm not certain I will embark on another male sweater again for many years to come, but this one will have to do for now. He didn't even let me block it and has worn it quite a bit already. Finishing it amidst my January blahs felt like a great exercise of will. If you want to read what Tom said, and some tips from me, it's on Ravelry. I may be adding some more details to the notes when I can stand to re-visit the drama of my knitting notebook.

And the birthday girl chose to celebrate her day with lady friends and little girls, making Valentine's cards together. Lots of treats including lemon squares with rosemary shortbread crust, spanakopita triangles, cookies, cake, and coconut sorbet with vanilla bean!

Would it be a Creative Endeavors post without someone's charming child? Here is Mr. Crafty holding Adorable A. while modeling his handsome sweater. His job during the party was mainly as baby-holder, and he didn't mind snuggling this sweet girl.

EZ: WT*?!

and sometimes the quartet of tiny gnomes

say the heck with it, and

just take off in the red truck

I am a constructivist knitter: I like to explore new ways to create 3D forms with yarn. I am intrigued by patterns that open up new ways of thinking for me about the possibilities that exist for a certain form: sweaters knit from the top down, socks knit from the toe up, a new type of neckband, a particular shape for a hat.

That being said, let me tell you a little about Elizabeth Zimmermann (EZ as we call her in the knitting world). She is one of the godmothers of modern knitting who empowered knitters to make patterns their own, to use percentages and ratios to create garments to fit individuals everywhere, to do what is right regardless of what the pattern says. EZ hated knitting on two needles and was a big advocate for circular knitting because she loathed sewing seams. Her knitting books are fun to read because she was witty and clever, and she also did not believe that people could legitimately be allergic to wool. I love her commitment!

So her style is to give you a rough overview of a pattern and then follow this with alternatives and modifications and then a set of "pithy instructions."

Now I am deep into knitting her Seamless Hybrid sweater for Mr. Crafty for Christmas, of course, though I started it way back in the summer (ripped it out, started again, etc.). So the sweater feels a little epic right now. And I have one finger that is suffering a knitting-related injury, which is why it's great to knit both continental and European-style (though I am slower with European). This sweater is no surprise gift, he knows it's coming.

And I'll tell you right now that I am heading into unknown territory: knitting a saddle shoulder. This is the part of the sweater that comes up your upper arm and then gracefully flattens out as it heads towards your neck. EZ is leaving me completely in the cold on this one. Her pithy instructions are not nearly as pithy as I need them to be and I am at a loss about the overall concept. (I have ordered yet another EZ book through Interlibrary Loan which might help me, but it's not here yet.) Hello, EZ Help Hotline?! I am in a knitting emergency!!!! Yeah, ok so I have been knitting seriously for almost 20 years, I know my way around the lingo and yet whammo, I am humbled by the challenge of this learning experience.

Enter the Internet, Ravelry, and finally, my own Mr. Crafty. Yes, I trolled blogs, forums, posts, etc. Turned up nothing, which is embarrassing for a librarian.

Finally, my own Mr. Crafty came to my rescue. And I will admit that I was reluctant to involve him at first, though he is both a knitter and spatially excellent. We looked in detail at this post, particularly at the photos at the end. Somewhat annoyingly, though totally helpfully, Mr. C. "got it" just by looking at the pictures. *I still don't get it!* But I feel better knowing that he does and also that I don't need to face this tricky part for probably another week or so.

This is why it's good to marry your best friend, who also coincidentally happens to be good at things you're not. Like he was about to start knitting a hat and showed me this hideous yellow with a multicolored bluegreen, and I wrinkled my nose and said: "And who would you be knitting THAT for?" "Ummm....you? I guess not." "And do you ever see me wear yellow?" "Ummmm...no." So I helped him find the most gorgeous yarn for a hat he is knitting me (pictures will come).

little dolly for my niece

Ultimately, what really helped with the EZ conundrum was not my husband, but a complete stranger on Ravelry, TomofHolland, who kept popping up on the EZ forums as a guy who seemed in the know. He wrote me a lovely, in depth explanation of the process and I will post it soon for the betterment of knitters everywhere, who like me, may be new to saddle shoulders and need some kind hand-holding.

EZ'z Mitered Mittens: going around

I admit to being a bit shocked when I discovered that SouleMama has also just completed the very mittens I finished this week. I felt a little like my story had been scooped! That's silly, I know, I guess it's a case of great crafty mama minds thinking alike. Won't it be fun to know that two Maine blogger Mamas are sporting such stylish mittens!

So I did make these mittens, in this gorgeous strawberry-lime colorway by Crystal Palace yarns. The photos make the hot pink/red parts get a little crazy bright, they are not quite so eye-popping in person.

The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Mitered Mittens from The Knitter's Almanac, and I made some modifications, including a thumb gusset (unlike SouleMama, who went for the afterthought thumb). Also had to modify because I never ever can manage to make a pattern in exactly the same yarn weight, or gauge, as the intended. This seems quite in the knitting spirit of EZ, use those proportions and love math! These are nice and dense, so no whistling wind will get me, and speaking of wind---I am also NOT A FAN of mittens/gloves with short cuffs. So these cuffs are long, just how I like 'em. (I tell my children: If I can see your neck/wrists/ankles so can The Wind!) My modifications are on Ravelry.

They were pretty easy. And really colorful additions to the bleak midwinter landscape.

Since I have been down with strep throat this week (oh. the worst pain. up there with natural childbirth, I kid you not!) I have been working on a new sweater for myself, and funnily enough perhaps as a bookend to the start of this post, I first saw it on SouleMama's blog! I will have some pics soon, it's in a dark indigo/French Navy sort of color. I will knit it with sleeves, as Amanda did, and I am modifying the size (the original pattern is for a 34" bust, 6' tall woman...huh). So far, so good. Knitting has been something I can do to keep my mind off the pain (which is now finally subsiding).