Sunday, September 25, 2011

A Full To-Do List

Managing a blog along with school, soccer and college applications is a very tough thing to do. Add the actual knitting project on top and you've got yourself a full week of work. But somehow I seem to be managing, if some of that entails procrastinating on the less important things on the to-do list. Of course, my jacket and blog are not on the less important list, and especially with the fall weather blowing in, a new jacket, and a handmade one at that, is even more of a priority.

In the past week I finished the bottom half of my sweater for one side of the front, and now that it's looking more and more like an actual sweater, I'm getting very excited. Even though it's not even halfway done, I'm still motivated and itching for it to be finished so I can wear it. This time around, when picking up the stitches on the sides of the waistband, I was careful to work out a way to pick up the stitches so they were evenly spaced and not bunched up at the end when I was trying to make the last 10 stitches out of two. I think it looks quite a bit better than my previous attempts and took considerably less time with less ripping out of the picked up stitches. So, naturally I was also in a much better mood as well.
Picking up stitches on both sides of the waistband
 turned out better this time than before.

 I'm hoping to finish the top half of the left front of the jacket and then start on the opposite side. I also will probably be doing some research about blocking the sweater in pieces versus as a whole once I'm finished, but I may wait until I'm closer to finishing before I do that. Slowly but surely I'm getting there and I can't wait to be done!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

The Navajo and Pueblo Native Americans

The history of weaving and knitting is one that dates back to before written records. Weaving is a worldwide art and because it can be so specific to each region of the globe, it seemed like a perfect way to learn about all different types of culture and to try and refresh my memory from AP Human Geography sophomore year in high school.

It seems to me that knitting and weaving are most often associated with Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Most patterns that we see in books and magazines that are ethnic are from those regions and other parts of Europe. I think we sometimes overlook those lesser known cultures, some even in our own country, and what knitting and weaving mean in everyday life. So, for my first cultural weaving blog post, I decided to research the Native American culture and what weaving means to them.

Native American tribes are spread out all over the U.S. and different tribes and regions have various meanings and uses attached to weaving, but not so much to knitting. Most of the time these differences come from the availability of materials or climate. For example, the more northern tribes wouldn't necessarily have prairie grass or a lot of warm weather, whereas the Pueblo tribes of the southwest probably wouldn't use cedar bark or need to make excessively warm garments. Basketweaving is what most people think of when it comes to weaving, but many tribes made and still make blankets, clothing and other items necessary to life.

The Navajo and Pueblo tribes of the southwest United States are famous for blanketweaving. The weaving began with grasses that grow in the area they settled in, but when the Spanish began to colonize the area, sheep wool became available. Different types of looms were developed, ranging in size from small belt looms to upright looms, which were much larger. Natural dyes were used to produce the right colors, and other yarns from England were used when trading began. Elaborately woven blankets were, in the early stages, a symbol of wealth, and only the chiefs and more wealthy would have them. The weaving patterns were often geometric and colorful, and today, it is considered an art worldwide.

Because there are so many different tribes with their own traditions concerning weaving, I decided to stick with just one for now. Otherwise, this post would be way too long. But there will definitely be more about the different Native American ways of weaving.

Source:
Anderson, Lee, and Eric Anderson. "Article on the History of Navajo Weaving by Lee and Eric Anderson - Americana Indian Traders." Native American Art, Navajo Jewellery, Navajo Jewelry, Navajo Rugs, Hopi Jewelry, Southwest Art. Anderson's Americana Indian & Western Shows. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.americana.net/rugs_article.html#last200>.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

There and Back Again

The back of a sweater is always the most boring part of a sweater for me. Besides the swatches. But thankfully, this time I didn't get to the end and have to go back and take anything out as I have in the past. I finished the back of the sweater without much trouble, much to my excitement. I did have some problems picking up stitches from the edge of the waistband: spacing the stitches out and on top of that picking up the right amount of stitches proved to be a bit difficult. But I managed to do it somehow, and went on with the rest of the back.

In my previous experiences working with increases, I always did a knit in front and back on the first or last stitch of a row. However, after discovering that that technique leaves an awkwardly placed bump in the midst of nice-looking stockinette stitch, I tried something different this time. Two stitches in from each end of a row, I picked up a stitch in between stitches, creating a new stitch and a small hole, something I can fix when sewing the sweater together. Thus, the back is finished, complete with armholes and everything.

Hopefully my luck will continue to hold out to the finish and I won't have to get there and then go back again.

Stitches on both sides of the waistband were picked up
and knitted to make the top and bottom of the back.

Monday, September 5, 2011

The Dreaded Swatch

Ever since I learned of the existence of the swatch, I have loathed it with a passion. I know they are important to gauge and all that, but I really dislike the feeling of doing something seemingly unproductive when I could be working on an actual project.

But since I want to do this project with as few problems as possible, that means taking precautions, putting my hatred aside, and knitting not one, but two swatches.

I finished my swatches and washed one to see if the gauge would change or if the yarn happened to somehow felt itself or do something else drastic. It proved to be normal yarn, and after the swatch dried, the gauge remained the same as before. So, with this unhappy task of making swatches out of the way and the proof that the yarn won't change on me after I finish my project, now I can actually start on my sweater.

Left swatch: not washed. Right swatch: washed.