Deep Sea Wanderer

Deep Sea Wanderer is an infinity scarf based on Jules Verne's book, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, published in 1870. This is the third pattern to appear in Lit Knits. The name of the pattern refers to both Captain Nemo and his ship, the Nautilus.

This was the very first photo taken during the shoot. 

The novel's original language is French, so the title was originally 20000 Lieues Sous Les Mers, which ought to have been translated to 20,000 Leagues Under The Seas. That missing "s" has led many English speakers to believe that in the story, Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus, travels 20,000 leagues straight down. In the book they actually travel a distance of 20,000 leagues, visiting all the different seas.

The scarf is meant to look like a view through the porthole of the Nautilus. The top and bottom have a texture that resembles the rivets around the porthole and the center portion of the scarf is the seaweed that can be seen when looking through the glass.

During part of the shoot, I handed over the sextant. Captain Nemo has a sextant, and I was lucky to borrow one from a friend. (I hadn't expected to learn how to use a sextant for a book of knitting patterns. But I couldn't have the captain holding the sextant upside down, now could I?) The model had a good time playing with it.

One of the best lines of the day was when we were trying to get a certain pose. My lighting assistant yelled out "Look more captain-y."

And so he did.

Spin, Span, Spun

I have been spending most every day knitting as quickly as I can. But some nights, when I just can't stand to look at my knitting anymore, I've brought out my good old spinning wheel. Here we have an indigo dyed silk and yak blend (I'm pretty sure it was yak... or something similarly weird) from Twisted Sunshine. Indigo does have the habit of crocking, so I do have blue fingers after spinning for a bit. But I do believe that my spinning is taking most of the residue indigo off of the fiber.

I finally set the twist in the two skeins pictured below. The pink to brown skein is one of my Moonrover mystery batts. I chose to chain ply it. The actual skein slowly faded from one color to the next. So pretty! The blue skein next to it is from two batts from Tanglebella. I love how it looks like the night sky. That particular skein is a 2ply.

This particular skein is extra special. The yarn is from a friend's reclaimed silk sweater. As she pulled the yarn out, we found that it wasn't well plied anymore. The yarn is gorgeous, but trying to knit a loosely plied yarn would have been a nightmare. I offered to run the yarn through my wheel.

There is only one problem that has occurred with all this spinning. And that is that there is no way I will ever be able to use all the yarn I am making. I love spinning it all, but I spend most of my knitting time working on designs, which means I need to use commercially made yarn. So I have a hypothetical question for everyone. If I were to hypothetically sell any of my hand spun, would anyone be hypothetically be interested in buying it? Money from the hypothetical sales would go into funding my book. The book is not hypothetical.

Oh Dear, It's Colorwork Sock Sizing Time

I realized that I haven't really talked about my knitting in awhile. Probably because I hadn't much to show. But as usual, I have a bunch of things that all were finished around the same time. I also have some knitting disappointments to share too. We'll start with the bad news. The mitten is having some issues. I know this picture makes it look all dandy.

But in reality, my big worries about it being too big (which is was) has taken a complete 180. It is now too small! Usually I would just block something bigger, but in this case, the pattern is straining. It just isn't what I want. So this project is in time out until I decide whether I'm going to add 4, 6, or 8 more stitches back into the hand portion of the pattern. Of course the cuff threw me. The cuff fits just fine. Any feedback or encouragement would be very welcome at this point.

Now on to the good news. I finished my Rocky Coast cardi. As usual the shoulders are suspect, but the fit is really nice everywhere else. I wore it for a day deciding whether or not I'd block it, but in the end I thought the pattern might open up a bit. Of course SOMEBODY thought it would be a good place to sun himself. When I was taking pictures I told Scooter to sit. Usually he sits where he has been standing....

And last, but not least, some book news. I've finished design number five, which turned out pretty good. Actually, it's fantastic, but I'm a super picky person when it comes to my own designs, so I'm sure I'm just being overly critical. I've started work on design number six, which has been a tough one to work on. It is going to be a pair of socks with large amounts of colorwork and I'm having a little trouble deciding what gauge people might like to knit it in. Colorwork has less give, but I knit so loosely, it usually isn't an issue for me.

I'd like to ask all of you guys, what is the typical number of stitches you like in your socks. I typically cast on 60 stitches for mine. As a reference for these socks, I'm getting 8 stitches to the inch unstretched, but it stretches easily to 6 stitches to the inch. I know not everyone gets that kind of stretch with colorwork, so any advice or feedback on what you'd like to see in a colorwork sock would be super helpful. (or good websites to check out) I already know sizing is going to have to be done with gauge due to the nature of the design.

The Ugly Feeling

I've been reflecting on my book writing, and I've noticed that I have a distinct cycle I go through each month. I have 1-2 weeks of furious writing and knitting where I'll knit from 2PM to 3AM. I end up sleeping in pretty late, except on work days, of course. This has resulted in my Dad and brother believing that all I do is sleep. They only seem to pass by my room when I'm passed out. After two weeks of solid work, I spend a week fretting about what I've worked on followed by a week of recouping (playing computer games, knitting patterns that are not my own).

Three hats, same design. Not sure which ones will be pictured in the book. Hat details washed out on purpose.

This week is the week of fretting. It's a rather ugly feeling of "What am I doing?" "Why am I writing a book?" and the big one, "What if no one cares if it exists?" I think that last one worries me the most. Not because it actually matters if my book changes the world. But because I am pouring so much of myself into it. The rejection of my book is like a rejection of myself. If no one likes the book, then perhaps no one likes me. (Even though I know it isn't true, the feeling still exists) I imagine that is the feeling a lot of people have with their creative endeavors and that is why it is so hard to put yourself out there.

The second in a pair of socks for the book. This is the bottom of the sock. Can't show the pattern just yet.

I try my best to ignore that ugly feeling, but it is a bit paralyzing at times. I think the most important thing to do in this situation is to just keep going on. If I don't feel I can work on my own patterns, then I knit other peoples patterns. I can at least spend my time learning about different construction ideas and garments.

Emilien Sweater. Still needs the zipper. Hope to install it next week.

Working on the book isn't all gloom and doom, though. Even though work feels slow sometimes, I've started to write down everything I've knitted. It's funny how making a list can change my "Why haven't I completed anything" attitude into "How the heck did I have time for all that?"

On a slightly separate note, I'd like to thank everyone who comments on my blog. It makes me feel special and important. I am in the process of figuring out a different comment system for blogger. I want to respond to everyone, but blogger's comment system really isn't friendly in that sort of way. Just know that I read all comments and check out your blogs if you happen to have one.

In Order To Finish, You Have To Begin

I noticed that it's been two weeks since I've talked about any knitting. Two weeks! I have been knitting quite a bit, but it's all been secret knitting. (Or that wretched sweater. I've sworn to myself not to post anymore about it until it's done.) I've been debating whether or not to talk about what all the secret knitting is for, mostly because once I start to talk about it, then I'm admitting to myself that I'm really going through with the idea. So here it goes...

I'm working on a knitting pattern book. And while it is too soon for me to talk about the theme, (unless you know me personally, in which case I talk about it all the time) I will start talking about all the frustrating and rewarding things that go along with creating a knitting book.

Madelinetosh Sock in Graphite, soon to be a pair of socks

The first thing that I find frustrating about writing a book is that everyone seems to be writing a book. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter how many people are writing books. All that matters is that I finish mine.

Malabrigo Worsted in Bobby Blue, Ravelry Red, and Natural, soon to be a pair of hats