The disappearing week

I missed blogging last week. I don't even know where the week went. But I have been doing lots of knitting and got a few things done.

More Stash Buster Socks finished. Yay. Add them to the Christmas pile.

I worked on my class for the Yarn Over Sleep Over Retreat in April. Seems like it's so far away but it will be here before we know it. One of my classes is Shaping Lace so I made up a scarf where you have to decrease away on the sides of the lace pattern and then increase. This gives practise for when you need to shape armholes and necklines in a lace pattern. This is what we'll get started on and then the knitters can continue to work the scarf (or not). Maybe I could call it Waving Leaves. Do you have a better name?

I'm also working on a scarf with triangles. They are my obsession at the moment. This scarf starts at one end and works to the other, attaching each new triangle to the next. The triangles get bigger and bigger to the centre and then get smaller. I was trying for an exact depth in the centre. It took a couple of tries. It turns out that that's quite a bit of knitting on a 3.5mm/US3 needle. But I really enjoyed it. And might just start another one.
I tried knitting a new scarf off the old scarf. Not a good idea. The garter stitch really puts permanent kinks in the wool that knit up unevenly. I know this, I was just so excited to keep going. I ended up ripping back the old scarf, dumping it in water and waiting impatiently for it to dry. Hovering over the wool and checking every 5 minutes does not quicken the process. Now there is much less wiggle in the strands.

I guess that answers the question of where my week went.
Deb

Lace Chart Reading class

Do you use charts to work lace? I think they are far superior to written instructions. I'm running a Lace Chart Reading class on Saturday, April 9 at Eliza's Buttons and Yarns in Barrie, ON.

Charts give you a lot of information.

1.  They tell you exactly what to work across the row: knit, purl, yarn over, decrease.
2.  They also give you check points to watch for so you know you're on the right track. Check that those yarn overs line up with the ones two rows down. Yes, they do! Hooray.
3.  A repeating lace pattern with markers set up between the sets of repeats gives you a smaller portion of the lace to concentrate on, increasing your chances of success.
4.  The chart gives you a visual of the finished lace scarf which you will be able to see as you knit.

We're going to start the Crescent Scarf in DK weight yarn (Pattern included in class fee). We'll Cast On and begin the lace work right away. Each row is repeated many times across the row so you'll have the chart reading down in no time flat.

I love doing this class. I love to see knitters realize how easy it is to read charts. This opens up a whole new area of the knitting world where beautiful lace resides.

-Deb

Day 10: Boredom is Good

How can being bored be a good thing? It can make you a better knitter, that how.

• Learn a New Method:  I have been working on a Short Row cowl which is taking rather a long time to knit. Because I was bored I started looking on the internet for at all the ways there are to knit short rows. I can now work 6 types of short rows and did just that in my project. Not bored anymore.

• Decorate the Sides:  If you have miles and miles of stockinette stitch to work in the Body of your sweater, consider working a stitch pattern in a panel at each of the sides. Not bored any more. Side Pattern Vest

• Better Borders:  If you're working down your Top Down sweater and need something to keep you going, look through your stitch dictionary and find a really fantastic stitch pattern for the Bottom Border and the Cuffs. Worked a Slip Stitch pattern for a ShirtTail bottom border (from the Need A Circular Yoke book). Not bored any more.

• Knit Theme Socks:  Knit socks a lot? Looking for a cool stitch pattern to put in your next pair? Look through your Stitch Dictionary with someone or something in mind. What stitch pattern reminds me of my grandson? Or which stitch pattern represents Marriage, Life, Winter Fun, the Beach to me. These remind me of Fall, Pine Cone Socks.

Get bored and see what happens,
Deb

One Step Further Away From the Pattern

I've decided that I wanted to add a little more lace work to my latest Circular Yoke. It's turning out to be lots of fun.

I'm adding lace down the sides. I cast on 16 sts at the Divide Round for the underarm cast on. Perfect for adding 2 x 8st lace pattern I used in the yoke. If you cast on more or less than 16 sts you can still work out where to put 2 repeats of the pattern in. It certainly adds quite a bit of interest to the knitting of the body. I think a twist or knit and purl pattern would work just as well.

I knit every round until I was below my bra since I don't always wear a beige coloured bra and didn't want it to show through the lace. One less decision to make when I get dressed is a good thing, ha, ha.
Deb
Thanks Karen, Liz & t_a for your thoughtful remarks. It's great to know I'm not alone in the two steps forward, one step back approach but always moving forward. It's a journey as well as an adventure!

Circular Yoke II

Second Circular Yoke sample. This one is for the same sized person, me, but in finer yarn. This is worked with Cotton Tweed DK weight yarn and lace stitch patterns. Because this yoke is in finer yarn, with more rows per inch, I can fit 2 Bands of Pattern in. It also has a larger neck opening with a ribbed pattern which I would also put on the cuffs and bottom edge.

Same Basic Circular Yoke sweater as in the last post, different look. I think I'm going to like wearing this one. What do you think?

-Deb

Can't put it down

Do you have projects that you love knitting so much you just can't stop? I'm knitting one now, the Panel Cardigan out of the Need A Plus Cardigan? book . I like to knit adult-sized sweaters but must admit that some of them are more fun to knit than others, especially near the end. This is going really fast. The Lace Panels are interesting to knit and the stocking stitch in between is a rest and motors along to the next Panel. And this is for MYSELF, Yay.

Here's Lyn in one of the lace cardigans from the book. This is the one I'm reproducing. I really like the collar. I think I'll put a lace edge at the bottom of 3/4 length sleeves.

Mine is in blue.

The pattern is really pretty. 

Have you knit something lately you couldn't put down?
-Deb

P.S. Brenda (from the comments) A NEW blue cardigan for the next 6 years!
t_a (from comments) The scissors are very, very scary the first time you use them.

Home now from the MidWest Masters knitting retreat. It's always a great time to hang out with knitters. It even snowed so that I would feel at home, ha.

I have a couple of experiments going. One of them is working with the Saucon Fingering on a large needle. Oh my, does it ever feel nice. It's sock weight yarn but I'm knitting it on a 4.5mm/US7 needle.

It's going to be a drapey summer top which will need to be worn over a camisole. It will be cool to wear in the hot weather. Have you tried any of the light weight sweaters with sock weight yarn on larger needles?

Deb

It's blocking day. This scarf didn't take long to knit at all, except for the cast on and cast off, ha, ha. And they do take a bit of time but taking a couple of breaks helps. It's much narrower than my first one. Blocks out to 7" deep at the top of the circle.

I worked it in Saucon Fingering which is a cotton/acrylic blend.

Knits up really nicely on a 4.5mm/U.S.7 needle. It's drying right now and will be ready to come off the pins later today.

Casting Off a large crescent scarf.

I had to take a break part way through. It's a lot of stitches but seems to go faster than the equivalent length of a regular scarf knit from the short edge up. A crescent scarf is cast on on the long edge of a scarf so many more stitches to cast on and cast off.

On this version I cast on more stitches for 4 more points and cut the short rows in half so it's not as deep. It's much longer on the inside edge.

I've pinned it, steamed it and then sprayed it with water. Now I'm going to let it dry. On the weekend I'm going to compare the three I've done and figure out where to go from here. Some mashing of the three I suspect.
Deb

A shocking lack of blogging going on here. But I have been knitting, just not doing much in the way of photography. I'm working on a crescent shawl. I did the red one in Saucon Fingering cotton/acrylic and found it too short, more like a collar. But I have to say it steam blocked beautifully.


So I did another one larger in all directions, in Fountain Hill, a mohair/acrylic. It's feels gorgeous, light as a feather.


But I'm finding that everyone I show it to wants to throw part of it over their shoulder.

This one is still a bit too short to stay in place comfortably and rather deep, don't you think? So I'm working on number 3. I'm making it more of a crescent scarf than a shawl, half the depth of lace and longer short rows for less depth. So far I'm liking it but it doesn't look like much yet. Hoping to do some more work on it tomorrow. Stay tuned, I will need some feedback.
Deb

It's 2013. So let's begin with a new shawl pattern. http://www.patternfish.com/patterns/13368

It's done with 2 shades of the same colour of fingering yarn. Lyn put 2 different yarns in the same dye bath and each yarn took up the dye differently. One is darker than the other.

Which gives it a striped affect.

When using 2 colours you have to twist the yarns somewhere when changing colours. The usual place is at one edge. Since this shawl begins at the centre of the top edge I thought that carrying the yarn down one side might lead to that edge being tighter or looser. So I changed colours down the centre, twisting the yarns on the wrong side. 

This is the wrong side view. It worked really well.

I hope today is sunny because I need some good photos of the vests I finished and the 2-colour shawl.
The patterns have gone to my tech editor and should be back by the end of the week and up on patternfish next week. Yay. Time to move on to something new.

Lyn's going off to the Rheinbeck Sheep and Wool show this week. She'll be in the Shelridge Farm booth. Any other lucky people making the trip?
-Deb

Mini Road Trip

Eliza’s Buttons & Yarn, 110 Little Ave, Unit #8

Barrie Ontario L4N 4K8

Phone 705-725-8536 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            705-725-8536      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Web site http://www.elizaknits.com  Email eliza@elizaknits.com

I've just gone on my shortest yarn store road trip ever! It wasn't much more than blocks from my house. My visit yesterday was to Eliza's Buttons & Yarn, Barrie's newest yarn store.

Elizabeth Fallone, designer & passionate knitter, opened her shop earlier this month. She's done a great job with the shop as you can see from the picture (I had to chase Elizabeth around the shop to get her in the picture - that's her on the right). The store is bright and airy and has a lovely selection of yarns and a very extensive collection of unusual buttons (which we know are hard to find). We're very pleased that Elizabeth has the full line of Cabin Fever yarn & books.

Her Hours are:
Monday Tuesday 10:00 – 6:30
Wednesday 12:00- 8:30
Thursday Friday 10:00 – 6:30
Saturday 10:00 – 4:00
Sunday CLOSED

-Lyn

We're off to TNNA!

Deb and I are off to the TNNA show today with our new book: NEED A BABY CARDIGAN?

Super cute baby in a pretty cardigan! This new book is the third in the "Need A ... " series of books. The first two were Need A Hat? and Need A Sock? This series is a "multi-gauge" approach to each topic. So, for example, the new Need A Baby Cardigan? provides you with a range of cardigans (with colour, textures & lace) in 4 sizes (newborn to 18 months) in NINE (yes, 9!) gauges from sock yarn right up to chunky weight.
We'll be providing support and taking orders with Barb from Up North Fiber Arts Supply, our U.S. Distributor. Here's another shot of the cutie from the book:

-Lyn

I have been giving a lot of thought to fitting the raglan to the plus sized figure. I measured several of the women at our knitting guild meeting last night. Why can't there be a standard body for each size ?!!! OK, I'm over it.

I've been talking to different people for the last 2 years, gathering information and peeves about plus size sweaters. One pet peeve was right on the money. Why do plus size sweaters make the front and back of the sweater the same width? Most of us carry more weight on the front than the back. I'm not discounting the back carriage but that's further down the sweater so I don't have to consider it yet. It makes sense, the Front of a plus size garment could be wider than the back.


I am currently knitting some top downs by other people and making this change when I separate for my sleeves, making the Front wider than the Back. I did this on the Liesl by working across the number of stitches for the Front, one size up from my size, put the sleeves on spare yarn, worked the number of stitches for the Back, one size smaller than mine, put the second sleeve on spare yarn, and worked the Front, again one size bigger. It worked out perfectly. (I did check all the numbers first on my calculator to make sure it worked with the number of stitches I had on my needle.)

It's really difficult, for me anyway, to anticipate everything that might ensue from one decision until I act on it. Problems which I didn't think of crop up. You may have worked this out already but making the Front bigger means that the fabric above my bust line is also wider. I don't need extra material across my upper chest. In this pattern it won't matter because the lace will compensate but it's definitely a consideration. We need the extra material at the beginning of our bust and below, not above.


Food for thought. Any ideas?
I have a solution which I have been working on. It should work, I think, maybe.
-Deb

It looks like I came home from Ottawa and then disappeared off the face of the blog. I did but I was teaching in Midhurst last weekend so it's been a busy teaching couple of weeks.

Last weekend I taught a beginner lace class over 2 days for the Simco County Arts and Crafts Assoc..

They made this crescent scarf in DK weight yarn. It was a quiet class with much counting of stitches under the breath. But they all did very, very well.

You begin this scarf with the lace work. That entails many, many stitch markers, one for every repeat of the pattern. This Oatmeal one is in Cotton Tweed.

And then I knit this bright one in fingering (sock) weight yarn but it's a little short.

So the blue one I'm working on now has 4 more repeats of the pattern on it.

I'm still enjoying knitting scarf no.4.

-Deb

Cat Bed?

I've been trying to work on a stole .... but Emmy thinks it's her new cat bed. I can't put it down for a second without her climbing right onto it for a snooze. Something about the combination of Silk & Silver, fine mohair and a merino/angora blend? This cat has good taste!

The blue item in the front is a new lace shawl from Sophy which I'm test knitting in our Silk & Silver which I've dyed in a combination of purple, blue and turquoise. 

- Lynda

I am knitting socks, have I mentioned that lately?

Am I totally out of control here? I have one lace, one cable, one textured and one stockinette sock on the go. One to try the lace in a heavier weight wool, one to test the cable with some variations, one to see if the texture can hold out against the variegated wool and one plain sock because the tweed is so lovely and it's perfect for 'in the car' knitting. I'm not sure that any of these good reasons excuses having so many different socks on the go at once. But I've found myself in this position so it is only good sense to carry on, right? I'm obviously overflowing with good sense as you can tell. We'll see how I feel after the long weekend. I should have at least 2 of these socks done, 4 would much too much to hope for.

Have a terrific long weekend. Ours starts tomorrow, yay! Happy Canada Day everyone.

-Deb

The learning never stops. Isn't knitting wonderful that way? I am testknitting lace socks and found a lace pattern which does not work. Amazing and thought provoking. Why does this lace pattern expand at such a rate that the size of the leg is more than an inch wider once the lace pattern begins?

I discovered that the further away the decreases are from the increases the more the stitch gauge is distorted from good old stockinette stitch gauge. Easy lace has an increase (usually a YO) right next to a decrease. As lace gets more complex, the increases and decreases can be several stitches apart. In this case they are several rows apart. Every 6 stitch repeat of the pattern is increased on one row to 8 sts and then 2 rows later decreased back to the original number of stitches. The pattern is actually an 8 stitch repeat half of the time and seems to measure closer to an 8 stitch repeat. A sock which is based on a lace pattern like this may not come out the size you wanted. Interesting isn't it? Lesson learned. 

-Deb

I finished Mary's Shawl/Scarf. This is the scarf size which uses one skein of sock wool. It starts at the tip goes up to the top which was a new wasy of doing a shawl for me. I really enjoyed it. The pattern should be ready the first week of May.

And another finished item, yay!

I think I have 3 black and white checkered buttons at the shop. They would look so cool on this Last Minute Baby . It feels terrific to finish a couple of things. Now back to some of the UFO's I have stuffed behind my chair (and we all know why they are behind the chair - guilt is oozing off of them, it's messy).

-Deb

Fiona Ellis (canadian designer) told me that she and her friends do a 'knit count' on all the movies that they watch. So chime in when you have one that's got a high count. Elizabeth has started the list with 'Out of Africa' for shawl knitting. I would add in 'Emma' which has only a couple of shawl sightings but better than nothing. I do remember that 'Cider House' had quite a few of knitted garments in it.