Retreating Soon

One more week before the Cabin Fever Retreat. I'm working on the project every day. Our focus this year is join-as-you-go. We think we have a wonderful cowl for our attendees to knit. Here are some highlights:
Steps with Stripes

Or Steps horizontally

Mitred Corners

Triangles

All joined together all the time. The knitters will be choosing which they use where so all the cowls should come out slightly different. Should be lots of fun.

Deb

Mosaic boxes

It's the end of our Knitting Guild year. Yesterday we spent it at Linda's house learning to knit Mosaic boxes and V-neck Top Down knitting. It was a great day. Here we are, knitters hard at work, ha, ha.

Really we were learning how to read a mosaic chart. They are different from other charts.
Mosaic is colour knitting, working with only 1 colour across the row at a time. You knit the stitches you want to show in the particular colour you're working with and slip all the other sts. It's often found in your stitch dictionary in the Slip Stitch section.

Each row of the chart requires two passes (rows) of the same colour. With the Light Colour work the first row of the chart two times (Rows 1 & 2), once with the Right Side facing and back again on the Wrong Side. Now move to the second row of the chart and with the Dark Colour work it across on the Right Side and back again on the Wrong Side (Rows 3 & 4). Every row of the chart is worked twice with the same colour. Then the next row of the chart is worked twice with the next colour, alternating 2 rows Light and 2 rows Dark. It makes mosaic charts different from any other type of chart. Geometric designs result. The different colours make it look different.

These two below, have the colours reversed. The boxes are Light and the Background is Dark. To read the chart above and switch the light and dark is a real challenge and K & T did a terrific job.

Boo, hoo, that's it for Guild nights for a while. I'm going to miss my knitting buddies over the summer. Looking forward to seeing everyone in September.
Deb

Discomfort vs Results

How far are you willing to go for the result you want? I'm not into discomfort when I knit, at least not usually, but I took the plunge for the results this time.

A top down sweater with different coloured panels. This is a testknit for the new children's book. It's going to look great. While knitting the yoke I had 7 balls of yarn hanging from my sweater, one for each section: buttonband, front, sleeve, back, sleeve, front and second buttonband. Ugh. After a couple of rows they did settle down into some semblance of order but I was still in a tangle most of the time. I did figure out that if I lined them up and turned my sweater a certain way at the end of the row the tangle was more manageable. I was thankful I only had to do about 6" of yoke for a 4 year old size.

How to decide to take the plunge? I knew it would look great when I was done. I knew it would not be a comfortable, sit in front of the TV kind of knit. I also knew it was only for the yoke. Knowing all that, it was totally worth it. I would do it again. That's the real test of discomfort vs. results.

Here's a finished adult size:

Worth it, right?
Deb

Testknit sweaters

Testknitting for the 4-14 year olds Pullover book is moving ahead. Here's a Henley Top Down Pullover in the largest 40" size knit by Elizabeth (co-author) for her nephew.

Having the option to knit the sleeves a different colour was the reason behind this design. We're really having fun thinking up colourways for this. My next one will be a child's sweater with a rhubarb red body and denim blue sleeves. Can't wait to see how it turns out. Then Elizabeth and I both want to make one for ourselves.

I finished a Shawl Collar Top Down in teal Cotton Tweed for a 7 year old. The button is a Popsicle, ha, ha.

And there is one more, a Tuck Stitch Hoodie with stripes. This looks like lots of fun to wear.

The pile of sweaters is getting higher and higher every week.
-Deb

Hoodie Tuck Stitch Edge

My blogging is going to be somewhat erratic over the summer. I'm hoping to spend lots of time at my cottage where I don't have internet service. I'm wondering if I could figure out how to write my blog on my phone. Wouldn't that would be something!

I've finished the first testknit of one of the hoodies for the 4-14 book for kids. The edging is a Tuck stitch or sometimes called a Ruche (but there are two kinds of ruche techniques so that name is confusing).

 We used two colours which makes picking up from several rows below much easier. You know those little blips you get on the wrong side when you change colours? We're going to use them.

 Nice edge I think.

The shaping of the hoodie is done using short rows and is fun to work.
One hood done. Needs some more work on the details. But more on that later. I need to do a bit more on the body to see how this hood sits on the shoulders. Onward.
-Deb

Eek, a Steek Retreat

The challenge for the Knitting at Lake Lauzon was to come up with a steek project. They asked for steeking, really they did. So we steeked. Steeks are beneficial when knitting with 2 colours. Mosaic knitting is 2-colour knitting where you only use one colour at a time. A great technique.

First we all worked on the Mosaic pattern. Then we sewed along the 5 extra steek stitches we added to the hat circumference.

Then we CUT.

No one fainted, everyone sewed and cut, everyone! Then we worked the buttonband and the crown of the hat. A marvelous job by all and wonderful finished hats.

Liz finished with a headband.

A terrific weekend at Lake Lauzon Resort. There will be another retreat in 2016, same weekend, same place. Looking forward to it already.

-Deb

Steek Set-Up for cutting

I've been asked about converting the pullovers in the Need A Circular Yoke book into cardigans. If you're considering working colourwork for a caridgan, steeks, in my humble opinion, are the way to go. I knit a capelet with a steek so it can be cut open down the centre Front and a buttonband picked up and worked.

 

I'm going to sew the steek over the weekend. This is the plan. Here is my 5 stitch steek worked in a checkerboard pattern with the 2 colours.

 

I'm going to sew along the pink lines. There will be two lines of sewing close together up stitch#2 and stitch#4.

 

And then I will cut along the turquoise line, down the centre of stitch#3.

I will pick up for my buttonbands along the black lines, along the outside of stitch#1 and far side of stitch#5. Right now I'm just contemplating since the capelet is drying after blocking. On Sunday I cut! Woo hoo.
Deb

Colour Knitting

This is the first colour knitting I've done in a very long time. It reminds me that skills can get pretty rusty. I do colour knitting in the two-handed method and since I am a Continental knitter my off-hand is my right hand working in the English throwing style of knitting. I do admire those of you who can do it so effortlessly because I am struggling a bit to get it back. This is yet another options in the Need A Circular Yoke book which we are working on now.

As I proceed I do have some 2-handed colour knitting tips:
1. Use a larger knitting for colourwork rows(rounds) if your fabric tends to pull in.
2. Always use your "good hand" for the background colour. This maintains a good sturdy background fabric and stops you from switching hands part way through your project. If you've ever done this you know it makes the fabric look very different (ask me how I know!).
3. Each time you change colour push the stitches just worked down the Right needle. This will make your floats nice and long.

Do you have any other suggestions to add?
Deb