bengaluru knits

I am planning a knitting meet in a public park after june. Some nice gazebos in cubbon park Bangalore would be nice. I atleast know three people who would turn up. If you would like to join in Bengaloru knits event to share tips and knit together for sometime do leave your comments or email me. I am willing to start you off on knit projects but you have to get your own material. 

Parents , please this is not a child care class or one more thing to keep your child managed. So knitting fans only.

This took me a year! This celtic dog birth sampler counted cross stitch dogged me but now that its done, its off to be framed and gifted to the baby next week in time for its first birthday!

Baby Cap

I have lots of unfinished knitting projects . Recently I quickly used my circular needle to do up this baby cap for a gift

 It was easy I just cast on 54 stitches and knitted in Stocking St. All knit in the double wool purple yarn in size 8UK. Then I shifted to the fun yarn ( from the connoor wool shop)and also moved to size 6 after 2 inches of all knit, I then did this:

knit 4 reduce 1 by knitting two together and knit four and so on.

 (The Important thing to remember in circular knitting is to mark your row beginning with a knit marker. We can make knit markers easily in India by modifying our cheap earring hoops into a circle using pliers. Just make sure that the earing doesn't catch the yarn. Beady earrings are good, I found out.)

After one row I again knitted an inch and then carried out the reduction row. Then I went on knitting till the whole length was about a bit more than 5 inches. Then using a smaller yarn and a needle I caught all the loops from the needle and ties them up and tucked the knot in . I always weave in the extra yarn and never chop it off to the end. It took me about three - four hours of intermittent knitting.

Its a baby cap for newborn to 6 months. It may be a bit big for the new born. But the baby will grow into it.

Its still scarf and cap Knitting time.

 In honour of arne naes, the deep ecologist, I inagurated my new fashion knit cap and muffler on ignite 2 bangalore 09.

 Its a simple knit in the blue yarn brought from thailand by by freind annu.

 If you look closely you can see abutterfly clip on the cap. Its a shiny hair clip that I attached to the cap to make it prettier.

The next project will take a longer time as i am finishing the cable vest started long ago (seen half done in the earlier blog)

 also progress gets slower on knitting when my Phd speedens up!

Knitting Chronicles # 3

Knitting has now become a way of life. Its crept into unchartered areas of my life - during boring lectures, long bus or taxi rides and TV commercial breaks. Knitting mufflers and large  garments in simple knit and pearl  is easy in the TV breaks. My ruana ( see previous blog) is a TV break project while the mufflers owe thier beingness to the temporal nature of " wednesday morning talks" at our institute.

 

 I actually found that Hill stations may have these small knitting supply stores. In Conoor I found one shop with a whole wall filled with wool yarns in colours.  In the amazing old style bazaar, there was a button shop who had 5mm needles. Considering that I passed Pony industries on the way from Ooty to Conoor, I had a good mind to get off and ask them a few searching patriotic questions about knitting needles in India. But then I was knitting in the bus and felt very distant from all the fury of the early days. Also very smug with my bamboo needles from the US!

 All along the journey, instead of sleeping I knit. and my golden needles attracted a lot of attention from young girls who watched me . a little girl simply wanted the knitting needles. I quickly knit her a ring: k5, K5 , k1- k2tog-k2,k4, k2- makeone-k2,k5, close ( like a buttonhole) then she stopped her tantrum!

There are a few experiments I thought  I should share about:

I tore an old silk saree into tapes and have knitted a duppata/stole with it. Looks like a manish malhotra design if you ask me.

I have also become smarter at holding yarns together to knit. Holding two yrands from two balls together gives a very nice effect and also thickens the wool. 

I am wondering if we can knit our jute strings into bags.

 and  I am asking searching questions about crocheting!

 My ongoing projects:

 Cable vest, mufflers for brother and sis- in Law, a knitted hoodie, beret and a pullover!

Wool in Conoor

Conoor is  a small hill town in the southern hills of India called nilgiris. More about this place is in my regular blog. I found some fancy wool that is locally made - from ludhiana called  " Rosy wool." I just got a bit yarn mad and did pick up lots of colors too. ( I seem to be in a purple mood, I confess)

I am knitting a muffler for my sister in law from Europe. 

Along  a curving path, on the way to Lamb's rock 

lies a needle craft homeshop. 

Hand towels hand embroidered 

with and very prettyIndian themes .

(Do ignore the dates on the photos, I just did not set it right)

Ruana is complete

I got the free pattern and had to modify it a bit for tension and size:
http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/swewrap.htm
and this is what it looks like in "Bravo" wool, 3stitches = 1 inch in 5mm needles. its the first time I have knitted sideways.



Finished Ruana

Knitted from the side, used about 158 stitches and a 5mm needle

R1 knit
R2 pearl
R3 Knit
R4 knit

The wool called 'Bravo' ( mohair and silk ) I got at a sale in NYC at a shop in east manhattan called " wool gathering"! thanks for the discount.

It just came out perfect and has been much admired.
here is me in it
I used a bit of the green to give it a slightly designer look! ( actually I had bought less red wool during my us Trip)



THANKS Barbara Breiter !