Sea shanties and beach car rock

 Hello again everybody! I've fallen down the rabbit hole of sea shanties. They became popular earlier this year, but I've only started really listening to them recently because I'm learning to play the bodhrán (Irish frame drum), and the regular rhythm of a sea shanty makes them perfect for drum practice. The family music collection already has a surprising number, and then of course there's YouTube. A few of my favorites:

Stormy Winds Do Blow (Charlie Zahm)
Sea Shanty Medley (Home Free)
Soon May the Wellerman Come (The Hound + the Fox featuring Adam Chance)

And these aren't really sea shanties, but they're also great for drumming:

Tighinn air a' mhuir tha fear a phòsas mi (Capercaillie)
Alasdair Mhic Cholla Chasda / Rory MacLeod (Capercaillie)

Basically, songs and instrumentals with a steady rhythm work well, especially those with a moderate beat - not too fast or slow. In fact, the word "shanty" comes from the French "chanter," meaning to chant. If you're thinking about learning bodhrán, some YT tutorials that have been exceptionally helpful are those by:

Ruiari Glasheen
Nicolle Fig

If you're interested in the origin of sea shanties, this article at ClickAmericana had tons of interesting facts, including the abovementioned source of the word shanty.
 
To get back to the point, I have a theory. Traditional sea songs and modern beach-rock car songs are related. The more I hear of the shanties, the stronger the evidence. Please consider:

There's the new built "Terra Nova", she's a model with no doubt
There's the "Arctic" and "Aurora", you've heard so much about
There's Jacklin's model mail-boat, the terror of the sea
Couldn't beat the old "Balena" boys, on a passage from Dundee.
- The Balena, Traditional sea shanty

Just a little deuce coupe with a flathead mill
But she'll walk a Thunderbird like she's standin' still
- Little Deuce Coupe, The Beach Boys

---

The wind is on her quarter and her engine working free
And there's not another whaler a-sailing from Dundee
Can beat the old "Balena," you need not try her on
For we challenge all both great and small from Dundee to St.John.
- The Balena, Traditional sea shanty

When I take her to the track she really shines
(giddy up giddy up 409)
She always turns in the fastest times
(giddy up giddy up 409)
Giddy up 409...
Nothing can catch her
Nothing can touch my 409
- 409, The Beach Boys

---

For twenty-five long years she ruled the Northern sea
Riding like a queen on the tide
In the Caribbean one dark and stormy day
She ran into a reef and died
Bluenose, the ocean knows her name
Sailors know how proud a ship was she
Bluenose, leading in the wind
Racing ev'ry wave on the sea
- Bluenose, Traditional sea shanty

She had a classic beauty that everyone could see
I was the last to meet her, but she gave her life to me
She may be rusted iron, but to me she's solid gold
And I just can't hold the tears back
'Cause Betsy's growing old
- Ballad of Old Betsy, The Beach Boys

Not a million miles apart, am I right? Any minute I expect one ship's captain to offer to race the other ship's captain for pinks.

And what does this have to do with knitting, you ask? Nothing at all. Except that maybe the sailors wore sweaters.

Anyway, happy knitting (and drumming and shantying), and please stay safe.
~ Caroline

Adventures in Blocking

Knitting big items has some really good points. In its favor:

1. A sense of accomplishment. You get to demonstrate your sticktoitiveness and feel good about yourself, both for starting the project and for completing it.

2. Pride in your work. Others will be impressed that you made the item. When they ask, you can say "Yes, I made that!"

3. Warmth. More yarn = more warm. That's especially important when the winters are this cold.

That's all I can think of, really. Still, those are some pretty good reasons to Knit Big.

On the other hand, knitting large projects has its cons.

1. Time. More stitches take longer. Lots longer.

2. More yarn. It cost more, it's harder to store, and it makes the project less portable.

3. Blocking. Oh my, the blocking.

Some time ago, I decided to make a blanket. A warm blanket. A blanket made of worsted weight yarn, double knit. When it was finished, I was so excited. It was big! It was warm! It matched the couch!

Once the ends had been woven in, it came time to block. Well! It was too big to fit in the bathroom sink, where I usually block my handknits. Enter: the bathtub. First, I wanted the blanket to come out clean, so the tub needed scrubbing. Since I used Soft Scrub with Bleach, and wool and bleach don't play well together, I had to make sure to rinse away all traces of the cleaning product. A few minutes later, that was done. Next step: fill the tub with water and wool-wash. (I like Eucalan. It's gentle, it smells good, and it doesn't require rinsing.) Finally, put the blanket in to soak.

So far, so good. Here's what I didn't consider: the blanket contains about 3,300 yards of pure wool. Do you know how heavy that gets when it is wet? The answer: VERY. Wringing the excess water out was quite the adventure. It involved some experimenting with towels, squeezing by hand, and squishing the blanket with bare feet and a death grip on the bathtub hold-bars like I was stomping grapes to make wine. Finally, I wrapped it in beach towels, put the whole sodden mess in a laundry basket, and made a trip downstairs to the opposite end of the house to put the blanket in the washer on spin cycle. Fortunately, enough water came out to air-dry the blanket over the shower curtain rod with no mess. Yay! Now if I could only figure out why I feel the need to start projects like this at 11:00 at night.

Since this was my own pattern, I decided that the pattern needed to include washing instructions for any brave knitters who want to take it on. There's no need for trial and error for you, the knitter. Here, for your enjoyment and edification, are my instructions on how to hand-wash and block a large project. If you have any suggestions for a better way, please leave them in the comments!

A Word About Blocking an excerpt from Mayan Hot Cocoa Blanket by Caroline Steinford This is a heavy blanket to begin with, and when it gets saturated, it becomes MUCH heavier. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't wet-block it. It's a utilitarian as well as a decorative object, so at some point it will need washing. If you plan to machine wash, follow the instructions on your yarn label regarding water temperature and delicate cycles. After all the work you put into this project, you don't want to risk felting or shrinking it unintentionally. If you are washing by hand, use a large container, such as a bathtub or (clean) utility sink. Soak the blanket according to the instructions on your chosen detergent. When soaking time has elapsed, drain the tub or sink. Now comes the tricky part: getting the water out. With your hands, wring out what you can. It probably won't be much. If you are using a bathtub, you may be able to VERY CAREFULLY use your bare feet to squeeze out some of the remaining water. Warning: wet surfaces are slippery! If you do this, be sure to take precautions so you don't fall.* After as much water as possible has been removed, carry the blanket to the washing machine. (If you have a distance to go, try wrapping it in a large towel or two to prevent drips across your floor.) Use the spin cycle to remove the rest of the water. The blanket should now be manageable enough to air dry. You can use a large flat space like a bed or floor as for smaller blocked items as long as you make sure to flip the blanket periodically so both sides can dry thoroughly. Alternately, you can hang the blanket over a shower curtain rod. Pro: air can circulate freely, drying both sides of the blanket more quickly. Con: your bathroom will smell like wet wool until it does. To minimize this, use a fan to circulate more air and shorten drying time. * According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S. alone over a quarter of a million people are injured in the bathroom each year, and more than 80% of those are fall injuries. - http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6022a1.htm

Totally Tubular, plus a review of grafting

I just learned the absolute best technique for casting on and binding off 1x1 ribbing: tubular cast-on and tubular bind-off. When complete, they look almost exactly the same, and they give the ribbed edges of the knit piece a smooth, rounded finish. Here are some brief instructions:

Tubular Cast-On

Picking up stitches for a tubular cast-on. Lighter color
is waste yarn; darker color is working yarn.

Using contrasting waste yarn, cast on 1/2 the number of stitches you will want for your ribbing. Knit 1 row or round. Cut the waste yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail. 
 
Join pattern yarn and work 2 rows or rounds of Reverse Stockinette Stitch. On next rnd, *purl 1, then slip purl bump from first row or round of pattern yarn onto needle and knit this st. * Repeat from * to * until all stitches and purl bumps have been worked. (See diagram.) The number of stitches is now double the cast-on. From this point, work P1, K1 ribbing to desired length. After a few rows are complete, carefully remove waste yarn.

Tubular Bind-Off

You will need two empty needles for this step. Circular are best; it doesn't matter if they are slightly different sizes, as long as they are close to the size of the working needle.

Beginning with a purl stitch, work P1, K1 ribbing to desired length. When final row or round of ribbing is complete, divide stitches as follows: Hold both needles together in your right hand with tips facing left. *Slip first stitch (purl) onto one needle and hold in back; slip next st (knit) onto other needle and hold in front.* Rep from * to * until all stitches are divided. All purl stitches should be on the back needle; all knit stitches should be on the front needle. Break yarn, leaving a tail at least 3 times the length of your bind-off row / round. If you used straight needles, slip stitches onto a new needle so the yarn tail is at the working tip; if you used circular needles, slide stitches so tail is at the right tip. Graft stitches using Kitchener stitch, exactly as you would for a sock. Don't worry about the ribbing - it doesn't affect the way the stitches are grafted.

Grafting: a Quick Review

Here are the steps for grafting (aka Kitchener Stitch). When you're grafting stockinette or 1x1 ribbing, it helps to remember that on the side facing you (the front needle) you see the knit side of the stitches. On the side facing away (the back needle), you see the purl side of the stitches. So when you're completing a stitch, you'll be doing so knitwise on the front needle and purlwise on the back needle.

Begin by cutting your yarn, leaving a tail at least three times as long as your bind-off row. Thread it through a yarn needle and repeat the following 4 steps until all the stitches are gone off your needles:

1. Back needle: Draw yarn through first stitch purlwise, slip off needle.
2. Back needle: Draw yarn through second stitch knitwise, leave on needle.
3. Front needle: Draw yarn through first stitch knitwise, slip off needle.
4. Front needle: Draw yarn through second stitch purlwise, leave on needle.

Periodically use your needle or a crochet hook to adjust the completed stitches, making sure they are even.
This is the memory aid I repeat as I graft:

Back: Purl 1 off, knit 1 on; Front: Knit 1 off, purl 1 on.

Put a bead on it

Yukiko Cowls & Scarf - $5.95
Ravelry | Patternfish

Miyabi Collar - $5.95Ravelry | Patternfish

So, over the winter I got temporarily obsessed with this interesting stitch pattern out of a Japanese stitch dictionary. It has graceful leaf forms divided with seed stitch. It's versatile, too - as you can see on the left, it works well in rectangular form for cowls and a scarf, and on the right I adapted it for a circular collar.

In addition to its other merits, the leaf and diamond shapes also lend themselves to embellishment,which led to another obsession - knitting with beads. Large-hole beads (size 6/0) work wonderfully well. I also have a fairly large bead stash from my jewelry-crafting days, but most of them are seed-beads (10/0). They'd probably work well if they were pre-strung, but the beads on all of my designs so far have beads added with a crochet hook during knitting. With some trial and error, I found a way to get the seed beads on the stitches without too much effort using fishing line. Here's my little graphic and explanation:

Working with small beads: Are you using seed beads with very small holes? It can be very hard to get them over a stitch, even with a crochet hook. Try this: Cut a piece of fishing line or beading wire about 8" / 20 cm long. When you reach the stitch to be beaded, thread the fishing line through the stitch and hold the ends together. String the bead onto the fishing line. Holding the fishing line tightly, take the stitch off the left needle and push the bead down onto it with space at the top. Return the stitch to the needle and remove the fishing line. Knit or purl the stitch.

Carry A Tune - $6.95
Ravelry | Patternfish |
Sylvia Woods Harp Center

Once the beading was done, it was time for another type of stitch pattern: double-knitting. It's been awhile since I gave y'all a musical pattern. I asked myself, what does every musician need? I answered myself: a music bag. So here I present to you Carry A Tune. It's knit in mega-sturdy Cascade 220 with harps on the front and musical symbols creating a brocade-like design on the back and inside. It was fun to design and is absolutely HUGE inside. There are two large interior sections and one small pocket, and the layers of fabric make a cushy and protective carry-bag for anything, not just music.

Even though the cold weather is on its way out (yay!), that's no reason to stop having fun with yarn. Small projects aren't oppressive during the hot weather, and they'll come in handy again all too soon. Best get started now. :)

Happy knitting!
Caroline