Smitty is Knitting

Tag: yarn

  • WIP Wednesday: Aquamarline

    WIP Wednesday: Aquamarline

    Well, my quest to reduce my stash continues as I’ve begun AquaMarline by Park Williams. I recently finished two cardigans (I’ll cover those in a FO Friday post) and I was itching to start something new, mainly because I will be traveling soon and I wanted to have a project in-progress for the planes, trains, and automobiles.

    Four balls of yarn. From clockwise bottom left: A deep blue and purple yarn, a silver yarn with pink speckles, a light green yarn speckled with yellow and dark blue gray, and a multicolor yarn with brigh yellow, hot pink, and blank.
    Four of the many colors that will comprise the sweater. Clockwise from bottom left: Hamilton, David Hess, and Block Party in Rustic Fingering from Neighborhood Fiber Co, and a Skinny Single from Hedgehog Fibres (lost the label so I’m not sure of the color name!)

    Is a bulky sweater knit primarily from four strands of single-ply fingering the most practical choice for a travel project? No, but I’ve been on a large project kick for a while, so I stuffed the project and all four yarn balls into my backpack and moved a pair of shoes into my partner’s luggage.

    I didn’t notice until I went to cast on that AquaMarline is a raglan knit from the bottom up. And it wasn’t until I was nearly done with the torso that I thought that might interrupt the marling gradient; I didn’t want the sleeves, knit separately and then attached to the body, to have a completely different color scheme and then have a noticeable border when they joined. So instead of starting the sleeves from the cuff, I started them from the other end. I did a crochet cast-on for the number of stitches needed for the widest part of the sleeve, and knit a couple of rounds in the same colors used in the torso. Then I attached the sleeves, and when I finish the body, I’ll return and knit the sleeves down to the cuffs. A crochet cast-on, like a provisional cast-on, will let me pick up live stitches when I’m ready.

    The torso of my Aquamarline with the beginnings of the sleeves attached.

    I think this pattern would offer much smoother color distribution if it was designed to be top-down rather than bottom-up, but as the design description says, this pattern is all about playing with color and experimenting. Maybe I’m just a little too much of a control freak to allow for some heavily randomized color schemes.

    Where I’m traveling

    I brought my Aquamarline with me on the Amtrak to Philadelphia, where I saw one of my very favorite bands at Citizen’s Bank Arena. Yes, after 20 years of trying to see them live, I finally saw My Chemical Romance in concert. Truly, truly a dream come true for me. In the days since I’ve been relishing the feeling of being 13 years old again listening to Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. It’s such a deep nostalgia for not just a time in my life, but for the imagination my preteen self had and how this particular band helped me indulge it.

    This MCR tour is all about The Black Parade, which is the album that broke them into the mainstream. The first act of their performance, or pageant, really was the entirety of the album. The band dressed in their marching-band outfits and acted as the entertainment for a dictator of a fictional nation called Draag. During the set there was a firing squad, an appearance by the Philly Phanatic, Variety Puzzles, a launch of a nuclear warhead, a murder by a clown, a burlesque performance by the clown, and a suicide bombing by the clown. If MCR is good at anything, they are experts at theatrics.

    Their second set was very stripped back. After Gerard Way, the lead singer, had his throat slashed and the rest of the members were taken off the stage with bags on their heads by Draag’s secret police, they reappeared on a second stage in the middle of the crowd and played a selection from their other albums. I don’t think there was a single person in the audience who didn’t know the words to every song, in either set. Here’s my selection of bad photos – I wish I had more but my phone battery was at 20% by the time they took the stage.

    On the left side, the band plays on the stage; on the right, GerardWay appears on the jumbotron behind a podium.
    a closeup of the stage with all the band members, an actor, and the Philly Phanatic (a mascot who is tall, green, and fuzzy)
    Gerard Way is sitting cross-legged in a chair on stage with an open issue of Variety Puzzles. He has a pen in his mouth as though he is thinking.
    A wide shot of the stage. There is fire at the edge of the stage, in the back, and the banners on either side of the band are catching fire. Everything is orange, black, and red.

    The Variety Puzzle bit was very exciting for me. I love Variety Puzzles.

    The next day my partner and I spent the day wandering Philadelphia. After checking out of the hotel, we found a very high-quality cafe, Thank You Thank You, offering lots of different roasts that my partner has been wanting to try – he’s a huge coffee enthusiast – and had a couple of pourovers. Then i foudn the nearest yarn store, which was Yarnphoria just south of Center City. This is a lovely spot with cool, contemporary samples, displays of crocheted amigurumi, and the cutest little shop dog there ever was: Gertie.

    A small, long-haired black dog with gray on her chin lounges on a brown couch cushion.
    Gertie ❤

    When we walked in there were already some customers there who looked very much like they had also been to the concert the night before, so I felt very at home. The owner (or who I assume was the owner) was extremely welcoming and helpful, pointing out all the local brands they had available. I left with two skeins of Scout from Kelbourne Woolens, which is also a local Philadelphia business. At one point, Gertie got up from her couch, barked, and individually sniffed every person in the store. Definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in town. I would have loved to visit Wild Hand as well, but unfortunately we didn’t have time that day to travel to the Mt. Airy neighborhood from downtown.

    And in just under a week, I’ll be leaving town again for Venice! My partner, who works in the film industry as an AC (assistant camera), worked on the documentary Cover Up about the career of Seymour Hersh. The documentary is from Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus (Citizenfour), and it was accepted to premier at the Venice Film Festival. This documentary is probably my partner’s favorite of the work he’s done, as he’s an ardent follower of politics and history, so it was beyond exciting for him that he was invited to attend the premiere. And I’m even luckier that I get to join him!

  • Frederick Fiber Festival: A day of sidequests

    New-to-me dyers, a hyper-specific color mission, and the importance of showing up in the rain

    I had been wanting to go to the Frederick Fiber Festival for years and never had a chance because until recently, I had always been working on Saturdays. Tough, especially because FFF happens twice a year – twice as many chances for me to get my ass there!

    During my tenure at the yarn company, we typically went to the big events, like Rhinebeck, Stitches (before it imploded), and VKL (before the thought of unloading a truck in the middle of Times Square became enough to give one hives). I developed a preference for the farm-ier, more outdoorsy events, where in addition to indie dyers and designer appearances, there were also farmers auctioning sheep and herding dog demonstrations. FFF isn’t quite large enough for the complete county fair vibe (I’ll get my fill of that when I make another small roadtrip to Maryland Sheep & Wool next weekend), but it introduced me to a number of vendors I hadn’t had the pleasure of shopping with before.

    Before I went absolutely apeshit at every shiny new booth, I had to remind myself that I had a mission. I’ve been wanting to make an Artus Shawl ever since it came out, and I have a very specific color scheme in mind that revolves around luna moth green. My partner, who loves solving problems, was with me, so I asked him to keep an eye out for a similar shade. I was fully expecting not to find it that day, but I happened to find it at Cape May Fibers. I held up a skein of mohair and said “Look for this, but not fuzzy”; I put the skein back down but my partner had the good sense to take a picture of the label to get the colorway, and wouldn’t you know it, the color was called “Luna Moth”. So while I couldn’t get the weight I needed at the festival, I placed an order in sport weight that night.

    I also made a stop at Yarn Hero’s booth, another source for color-shifting fractal-spun yarn. What I really appreciated here was that in addition to their beautiful standard skeins, Yarn Hero had flawed skeins, mill ends, and test runs for sale, sold by the gram. Not only is it a more affordable option for festival-goers, but I find this also speaks to the sustainability of the company. It’s good to see businesses not hiding away skeins that are short or have slubs just because they can’t sell them full-price. And it’s a rare opportunity for people like me who aren’t picky about a little mill knot here and there, or for folks who don’t want to buy more yarn than they actually need for a project.

    This is another perk of going to festivals like these: you get to see products that often don’t make it to the business’ websites. Plus you get to actually meet the people who run the companies, see the colorways in person, and feel the yarns. This is especially important for companies that don’t have a retail space, and rely on trade shows and trunk shows to directly sell. These events are usually the biggest money-makers, and will often keep an indie dyer in business for months.

    Which is why it’s so crucial, if you’re able, to brave the rain if the forecast calls for it. It never quite stormed on Saturday, but we had a clap of thunder and the rain was off and on, like someone was turned on the spigot every ten minutes or so while the clouds blew through. Almost all of FFF’s booths, minus a few trucks and food vendors, were indoors and sheltered, but there was still a strong gust that blew through one of the buildings and threatened some stands. In those moments, everyone comes together to brace against the poles and pick up flying shawl samples.

    At many festivals, however, booth spaces are in outdoor tents more exposed to the elements and mud, and some unluckily-placed vendor gets the short end of the stick when the weather turns sour. Rain or shine, these events are planned well in advance and can’t be canceled.

    Eventually the sun came out, and we called it a day at the Frederick Fairgrounds with my new skeins. The yarn I got from Polymorph Dye Works is especially fun, black with neon neps – it reminds me (in the best way) of 90s arcade carpet.

    My little hoard from FFF, from (left to right) Robin’s Promise Yarn Co., Polymorph Dye Works, 29 Bridges Studio, and Yarn Hero
    The same image just styled like a Dark Souls
    achievement

    But Frederick is a beautiful little city, so our day didn’t end just yet. My partner is a massive coffee-lover, and we made a stop at Gravel & Grind, a cafe and bike repair shop that sells great drinks and independently roasted beans. It was also Indie Bookstore Day, so while we drank our coffees we looked up the nearest bookshop to support. That turned out to be Curious Iguana on Market Street, downtown Frederick’s main drag of boutique storefronts and restaurants. I picked up volumes 23 and 25 of Jujutsu Kaisen, which were missing from my collection, as well as Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina; I had read Indian Burial Ground and I’m looking forward to reading his first novel.

    My haul of books from Curious Iguana
    The same image but styled like an Elden Ring achievement

    Our last stop of the day was Gwenie’s, a Filipino bakery with a couple locations in the MD/DC metro area. We were introduced to Gwenie’s by a friend of ours, and they requested a slice of ube cheesecake if we were going to be in the area. We got there within an hour of their closing time, when everything is 30% off, so we left with an armful of of mamons and sylvanas.

    An ube mamon and ube custard cake, you guessed it, styled like a Dark Souls achievement.

    Driving home from a lovely day out, I think the highlight of my Frederick visit was running into a regular customer from my former job and exchanging excited greetings. At least now they know I didn’t just fall off the face of the planet when I quit. Closure!

    *I’ve never played a Souls game, Sekiro, Bloodbourne, Elden Ring, or even a Souls-like. I just think the title cards are funny.

  • It’s WIP Wednesday My Dudes: The Thonnan Top

    Happy WIP Wednesday! I always have multiple projects in progress, but today I’m talking about the Thonnan Top by Katt Weaver, published in Yarn – The Journal of Scottish Yarns #3.

    My Thonnan Top – I’m currently halfway down the torso and haven’t started the sleeves
    A close-up of the yoke, knit with a fluffy alpaca yarn in green, pink, yellow, and black

    Let me tell you I near broke the mousepad on my laptop clicking on this pattern when I first saw it. Then I looked at Katt Weaver’s other patterns and saw that she’s a fellow D&D player (several of her designs names are references to the game or even accessories for dice). So obviously I was locked in.

    This top-down garment has a feather-and-fan motif yoke that stripes down into the main color, mimicking breaking waves. If you like texture, that marine vibe can be amplified with a frothy alpaca laceweight, which I’ve opted to use. I can’t wait to finish this project and be orbited by something something so decadent and lofty.

    From the Thonnan Top Ravelry page, one of the model shots of the sample in an incredible charteuse.

    I found this pattern because I’m desperately trying to use up stash yarns, so I had set a number of filters on the Ravelry search to find designs that use 3 or fewer skeins of DK weight yarn. Using a mohair or alpaca laceweight wasn’t even on my mind while I was scouring the Ravelry for a pattern, but I happened to have two skeins of the Tatreez colorway from Fruitful Fusion, a fundraising colorway to support victims of the genocide in Gaza, and this felt like a perfect pattern to showcase it this yarn front and center.

    Tatreez is the style and motifs of Palestinian embroiderers. Practiced and passed down from expert to student, usually between female family members, throughout the diaspora. Probably the most recognizable example is the embroidered thobe, which I’ve often seen as a black garment embroidered with red, green, and purple thread. Tatreez is an intangible cultural marker of Palestinian identity and history.

    Michigan Representative and Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib (top center) wears a thobe on the day she is sworn into Congress in 2019. In front of Tlaib is Deb Haaland, who was newly elected to represent New Mexico; Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and also wore traditional garb and jewelry that day.

    Because I am American, it’s crucial for me to talk about the US-backed destruction of Gaza and the murder of Palestinian people. Colonial violence has been implemented in Palestine for over a century with the British Mandate starting in 1922, and the Nakba of 1948.

    I think, I hope, that anyone who loves any handicraft understands the power of how familial teaching preserves art like tatreez, and what the world loses when its artists are imperiled and killed. To learn more about the history and preservation of tatreez, please check out Tatreez and Tea. This project was started by Wafa Ghnaim to preserve examples of tatreez, research its history, and teach it to new practitioners.

    What I’m reading

    I got Shotgun Seamstress: The Complete Zine Collection from my library this week. Osa Atoe is a musician and artist who created Shotgun Seamstress to document “the experience of being the only Black kid at the punk show”, connect and amplify other Black punk and DIY artists and musicians. Within Shotgun Seamstress‘s seven issues is Atoe’s and her collaborators’ deep knowledge of music and cultural history, a profound respect for the people who made and make the music and art that they loved. And yet, there is also the philosophy that as an artist, you can simply do whatever you want. You don’t have to wait for anyone to teach you, you don’t have to wait until you “do it right”, you don’t need the best equipment, and you don’t have to sound or, in the case of the punk scenes in majority-white cities like Portland, look like anyone else to make something.

    The cover of Shotgun Seamstress

    What I’m watching

    The newest season of Gamechanger just began on Dropout TV, which is my favorite streaming service. If you haven’t heard of it, I suggest checking them out on Youtube and then subscribing post-haste. It’s all original comedy programming with extremely talented people, and if Whose Line Is It Anyway left a hole in your heart when it went off air, then you’ll love Make Some Noise.

    Gamechanger is a game show where the game changes every time. The season 7 premiere stars Jacob Wysocki, Vic Michaelis, and Lou Wilson, and I don’t think I’ve laughed so loud in months.

    Jacob Wysocki, Vic Michaelis, and Lou Wilson stand behind their podiums on the Gamechanger set.

    To fully appreciate this episode though, it would behoove you to watch an episode from the previous season, “Sam Says 3”, which features the same contestants.

    That’s all for this Wip Wednesday

  • Introductions

    A menagerie of caked yarn in different colors and textures

    Smitty is knitting

    Online I go by Smitty, a nickname I sort of borrowed from my dad. My pronouns are she/her but I wouldn’t be mad at they/them.

    When I was talking to my friends about starting a blog and they inevitably asked “about what?” I said knitting and crochet, because of all the things I know, it’s what I know the most about. Or at least what I have the most opinions about.

    What makes me ready to write about knitting? Well, I’ve been knitting and crocheting for over a decade (I learned in college when a very good friend taught me). I had always been a crafty and artistic kid; I loved drawing and painting, and making anything that came in a kit, especially if it involved lots of tiny pieces like beads. But when I learned yarn crafts, it felt like the thing my hands had always wanted to do.

    I also worked in the yarn industry for about six years, and ended up living off my hobby when I found a job at a small fiber business. As I became more ingrained there, I ended up seeing more of the yarn industry at large – its trends (of which there are many), and its dramas (of which there are more). I got to travel to fiber festivals and retreats, meet designers, and touch all the different kind of sheep I could. But when you work for a small business, you end up wearing many different hats. Over those years I acquired a lot of varied skills, but not a lot of professional focus. And after a certain point, I maxed out my upward mobility at the company. There were other, more personal reasons I decided to leave, but mostly I wanted to be more proactive with my career. I also wanted to do more with the thing I studied through college and grad school: writing.

    What can you expect me to write about? Knitting and crochet, sure, but every topic is more than what it is. I actually started drafting several other posts before I started this introduction, the post that should naturally come first. Those first drafts are proving fairly meandering, and full of tangents. Full of “well, I can’t talk about [topic] without talking about [political event] or [cultural philosophy] or [historical context]”. I, and a lot of other people I believe, end up discussing a lot of things when they talk about one thing.

    I know – it’s knitting and crochet; it’s not that deep. Sometimes it won’t be. I expect to pepper short posts about current projects, yarns I’m enjoying, and techniques I’m learning with longer, more meandering thoughts about aesthetics and craft at large. I’m interested in who knits and why, what is being knit and in what colors, how does it intersect with fashion, art, or culture? I will rarely “stick to knitting”. This blog will constantly overlap with my politics and other worldly interests. I’m far from a critical theorist, but this blog will be a way for me to exercise a critical muscle, using my favorite hobby as a dumbbell.

    I’ll get to that (I hope – I’m trying to get better at finishing my thoughts). For now, here are some other fun facts about me:

    • I love playing table-top roleplaying games like D&D. My current Pathfinder character is a gnome thaumaturge named Sandy Trousers. I am a huge Dimension 20 and Naddpod fan.
    • I have a crystal collection, but just because I like cool rocks.
    • I watched too much Animal Planet and read too many issues of Zookids as a child, so now I’m full of useless animal facts.
    • I was born without wisdom teeth.
    • I’m in my 30s, but I had shingles when I was 21, so spiritually that makes me 83.

    I can be found on Bluesky and Instagram as @smittyisknitting, so feel free to follow me there!