FYI
We get regular google hits from people searching out information about the Great American Aran Afghan (GAAA). I put together the finished photo of my GAAA with individual photos and comments about each square. The link resides in Susan’s Gallery.
February 7, 2007
From Susan — A Brief Post about Another Post
February 6, 2007
From Susan — Pure Magic
Man, I’ve been toughin’ it out with my Oregon sleeve lately and have had some “issues” — today, issues resolved!Â
I described the way I do my fair isle sleeves using the “magic loop” method. My method has been less than magical.  You need a very soft, pliable cable to do the magic loop method. Addis have changed their cable over the years (their timing sucks, btw) and it is now very stiff and unbendable. For most of my fair isle knitting, I use US 3’s and have them coming out of my whazzoo (sp?). However, A*St*rm*re yarn is heavier and so I am using a US 4. All my US 4 needles have the stiff cable except my 47″. That is just WAY too much cable to deal with! I have been on a quest at my LYS’s to find a better needle and finally found an older Turbo with the old, softer/thinner cable. I could probably have ordered needles from KnitPicks, but thought I would shop around first. I know that Inox has some (out of production) and Susan Bates (not in the size or type I needed), so I hunted. The difference with the new needle is truly amazing and is making my knitting SO much easier!!
MAGIC LOOP
I know many of you know this technique, but a couple of readers asked for details. Here is the single loop method:
I simply pull the excess cable length between two sts about halfway around from where I am.  I knit to the loop and then pull the excess out half way around again, etc. When the sleeve gets too small for the needle tips to feel comfortable, I switch to a modified double loop. In standard magic loop, you pull out the RH needle, form a loop, and then knit across the cable:
I don’t care to strand (or plain knit for that matter) across the cable. It is difficult to maintain stitch size and just feels WRONG. My modification is to pull the second loop out a few sts back on the RH needle. Therefore you are always knitting and stranding across the regular needle tip:
This picture shows how it looks when the sleeve gets very small, toward the cuff (I’m not there yet!). You continue to knit on a long-tipped needle (unlike a 12″ circular with itty-bitty, short tips), you get the benefit of the magic loop AND you strand across a regular needle (not a dpn). When I get to the first loop, the other loop is already positioned about halfway around, so I pull the second one a few sts back from the RH tip. I keep going in this way for the whole sleeve. I hope this makes sense and is not too technical and boring ;).Â
I will use the 32″ ‘ for the entire sleeve since they did not have a 24″ with the thinner cable. I am on a roll, my knitting peeps!
February 4, 2007
From Sally — Berry Cluster Pullover Update
Am I the only one who gets bored at the start of the second sleeve? That’s where I am on the Berry Cluster pullover. I was hoping to be at the “sewing pearls on the clusters” stage of the sweater today, but I am not. Part of the problem, besides the fact that I am a slow knitter, is that I needed to pick up the neck three times and knit it twice.
The directions have you pick up about 90 stitches around the neck, which means that you can’t leave live stitches on the back and front necks because you would have far too many stitches. I picked up the neck as instructed, knit a few rows, and didn’t like how it looked. It was too obvious where stitches were skipped on the pick up. (I don’t have a photo of this.) I think it probably works fine if you use the fuzzier yarn called for in the pattern, but with my very smooth yarn there was nothing to hide the pick up.
On attempt number two, I went ahead and picked up into every stitch on the front neck. The pick up looked much better, but I knew there would be too many stitches and the neck would be too wide. I tried to compensate for that by having a series of decreases at four places around the neck (evenly distributed with respect to the shoulder). The neck looked fine, but it was still too wide at the very top.
I had two main options at that point. The first option was to start again with the higher number of stitches, but do more decreasing. I realized that to make the decreasing work, I wouldn’t be able to restrict the placement of the decreases the way I had on this attempt. I was afraid that decreasing at even intervals all around the neck wouldn’t look very nice and I decided I was too lazy to figure out a decorative decrease placement. The second choice was to pick up the specified number of stitches, but find a way to hide the pick up. So, I did the pick up again and then immediately did a purl row.
I think that worked fairly well.
A side note re the sleeve cap:
Because I am using a finer yarn than called for, my row gauge is “off.” Instead of 28 rows per 4 inches, I am getting closer to 31 or so. That’s not a problem for the most part because the pattern gives most of the directions in inches (e.g., 8 inches for the armhole). However, on the cap directions for the fitted sleeve, the directions are given for a set number of rows. If I followed the directions exactly, I would have had 55 rows total in the sleeve cap, which would be the 8 inches needed if my row gauge was correct. However, I knew that I had knit 64 rows from the first armhole decrease to the shoulder. With 55 rows, my cap would have been too short. Knowing that in advance, I slipped in a few extra rows here and there so that I had a total of 62 rows. I basted the sleeve into the sweater to make sure the sleeve length was right and the cap fit perfectly. Because fitted sleeves can be tricky, I think it always pays to look carefully at the directions for both the sleeve and the body to make sure that you compensate for any gauge issues.
Oh! I was going to save the yarn I used for my first neck attempt and use it for sewing. I’m not going to now. Here’s why:
(This is Eightball, a Chihuahua puppy who visits us occasionally and apparently can tell the expensive yarn from the cheap stuff.)
February 3, 2007
From Susan — Nuthin’ to Write!
As I have said before, knitting progress is like watching paint dry. I now have 4″ 5″ 7″ on my Oregon sleeve. Whoopie!!
Marina asked me about my fair isle sleeves. I have tried most of the techniques out there: for my first fair isle, I used 16-20″ needles and then switched to double points. I hated this for two reasons: 1) the needle tips are so short they are hard to knit with (the length of the tip gets shorter when the needles are less than 24″ in length), and 2) I do not like doing stranding across dpns.
For my second fair isle, I bought a set of needles in every length in US Size 3’s (20″, 16″, and 12″), and then 12″ US 2’s. The tip problem was even worse on those 12″ needles but at least I didn’t have to strand on dpns — I still hated it!Â
For the third, I used the magic loop method and LOVED it. I started with 32″ needles and made one loop with the extra cable length. When the sleeve was about half way done, I switched to 24″ needles and continued with a single loop until the sleeve got too small, then I switched to a modified double loop method. I never had to strand across the “naked” cable and finished the sleeve all the way with a 24″ needle (long tips — yippee!!). That is obviously the method I am using with this sweater. When I get to the “modified double loop method” I’ll post a picture. It is too hard to describe in words but is easy to do.
I am actually enjoying the sleeves because it does feel like I’m getting somewhere — at least compared to the body.Â
It was extremely cold today (below zero), but I ventured out into the arctic blast — in nothing but my coat sweater.  I do not own a winter coat, which is unusual for a Minnesotan and also admittedly stupid. It just hasn’t been that cold the last few years and when I layer up with two or three sweaters I’m as warm as anyone. I may have to break down one of these days and buy a coat if the cold streak keeps up!! 😉
February 1, 2007
From Susan — Quickie Update Deux
Hello! I have been quite the social butterfly the past couple of days. Tuesday I taught a class at The Yarnery in St. Paul. It was called, “I-Cord: The Versatile Wonder.” I covered basic i-cord, i-cord bind off techniques, double i-cord (one and two-color), and built in i-cord edging. We had so much fun — the students were great!! It’s amazing what you can do with lil ole i-cord!!
Last night I ate myself sick at a very good friend’s house. I have known these people since college and still get together regularly.  We ate and talked the night away — well, until 10 pm anyway! We aren’t as young as we used to be and all of us work today!!
Tonight is knit night, so off I go to another social outing. It has been a fun and busy week, but not so great for knitting. I have done at least 2” on my Oregon sleeve, but let’s face it — it is not the most portable project around!! I will need to start something else SOON so I can have something with me to work on. I feel downright naked without my knitting!
PS — this weekend is supposed to be the coldest in three years — so, I will hunker down and stay inside.
January 30, 2007
From Susan — Quickie Update
It is minus 18 windchill this morning — brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll be wearing my long johns today!Â
Sleeve island seems like a temperate getaway. I am actually finding it a pleasant respite. Who knew? I have done 1.5 inches out of 21.5 inches, so I have a L-O-O-O-O-N-G way to go, but I’m enjoying it. The good thing about top down sleeves is that they just keep getting get smaller!
Tonight I teach a class, so very little knitting will get done. Tomorrow night I’m out with the girls. Thursday is “knit night,” though not that much knitting takes place (too much talking and eating!). So, my knitting time will be severely curtailed until the weekend. Stay warm, my Minnesota friends! 🙂
January 28, 2007
From Susan — I Thought This Day Would Never Come
Marina, I never thought I would say this: the body of my Oregon Cardigan is done!! I have been slaving on Oregon all weekend so I could get to this point. I kept thinking, “Gee, I’m so close. If I just knit a little bit longer….”  The minutes became hours, and the hours days. But, I am at the shoulder grafting stage and almost ready for Sleeve Island. I’m okay with that — it indicates progress! Woo Hoo. I wish this picture showed the true colors.
Now, I don’t have a sour grapes attitude, but really! How fair is it that Marina does three blue stripes to the armhole, while I had to do four. And how fair is it that Marina did six blue stripes to the shoulder and I had to knit past seven? I’m not complaining, just saying. It should be noted that one “stripe” represents a mere 24 rounds!
Marina’s Oregon before Sleeves
Marina is a fabulous knitter and I hope a good sport — just jealous, M!!! 😉
I did watch a number of movies in front of a roaring fire, but did not get out much. It was extremely cold today and I’m not that used to it. Our winter has been pretty mild, so I am wimpy about the cold.
I may take a break from knitting tonight after grafting the shoulders. Whew!
PS — the grafting is done and looks “okay.”
Grafting “head to head” will always be a half stitch off — there’s no getting around it. I like how the partial trees form a spider’s web!
PSS — picked up the sleeve. I am officially ensconced on Sleeve Island! Thanks for the words of encouragement, Surly! 🙂
January 25, 2007
From Sally — Berry Cluster Pullover & Stash Enhancement
One reason I wanted to finish my Bohus Blue Shimmer is that I needed to start playing with my Royal Alpaca. Somehow, I keep getting shipments of it from The Tangled Skein in St. Peter. I don’t know WHO could have been placing orders for additional skeins on my behalf. It’s a mystery.
After Susan posted about her Berry Cluster Pullover, I was reminded how much I wanted to knit that. As I may have mentioned, I have yarn in my stash — the actual yarn called for — to knit it. But I kept picturing it in my Royal Alpaca. So the question became: Cameo (the dusty pink) or Spanish Leather? I chose the Spanish Leather. The color is not real true in these photos. Although it’s a brown yarn, it has almost a pink undertone to it. It’s very pretty. And it feels like butter. I just started it a few days ago and will finish the back this evening.
Of course, I’m already mentally looking ahead to my next project or projects. I have several head starts I’d like to revisit: Mermaid, Lismore, and my Feather and Fan shawl. But I was also tempted into buying some yarn today. My friend Jennifer and I met for lunch today. Before we enjoyed our Burmese food (which I had never had before), we visited a brand new yarn shop in Hyattsville, MD. It just opened Tuesday. A Tangled Skein is a lovely store and the owners are delightful. (If the name sounds familiar, it’s true. There is The Tangled Skein in St. Peter, MN — the source of all of my lovely Royal Alpaca — and A Tangled Skein in Hyattsville.) There is no website up yet for A Tangled Skein, but there should be one shortly.
I bought — hmmm, this is embarrassing — more alpaca. My new yarn is Ultra Alpaca by Berroco. It’s a 50% alpaca 50% wool blend. It knits at 5 stitches to the inch and comes in 100 gram skeins of 215 yards. I bought this with the Eris zippered cardigan from The Girl from Auntie in mind. I even bought some Wildfoote sock yarn from Brown Sheep (color Mistletoe) to match.
Can you tell I have a thing for blueish-green? ‘Cause I do. I also bought a new sock book from Interweave, Favorite Socks, which is a compilation of many of their sock patterns from back issues. I have ALL of Interweave’s back issues, but I couldn’t resist. It’s nice to have them all in one place.
January 24, 2007
From Susan — A Knitting Tip
I discovered that I had made a bit of a tactical error with Oregon and therefore had to rip back a few rounds. It’s not a big deal if you know the “secret.”
I was teaching a class on fair isle and one of the students made a mistake several inches back. She un-knit every stitch — several hundred per round — round after round!!!! It took her hours and hours. When I told her the secret to ripping out fair isle, I don’t know if she wanted to slug me or hug me! I’m sure many of you have used this technique before, but if not, you may find it useful.
Take a circular needle ~2 sizes smaller than the one you are using and pick up the sts through a row/round that is easy to follow. I am showing it on Rona because it is so darned easy to see. On Oregon, I chose the last round before a color change. Starting at the center steek (or beg of rnd), pick up all the sts* in that round. Then pull out the needle (Note: here I mean the needle you are actually knitting with, not the one you used to pick up the sts) and unzip the sts. Be careful to untangle the yarn as you go if you want to reuse it. Sometimes it is worth going back a couple of extra rounds if it makes following a stitch line easier.
I use this technique on regular knitting as well. You just need to make sure you are following the stitch line carefully. It is the technique I use for shortening sweaters.
So now I’m back a few rounds but happier!
Looking at Rona so close up leads to comparisons with Oregon. The new A*ice S*ar*more yarns are much nubbier and therefore do not yield as smooth and even a fabric. The gauge is bigger, too (28 sts/inch vs 30). Overall, it has a coarser, thicker appearance. I hope it improves with blocking!
PS (to Marina) — I do not transfer the sts to the “real” needle — I just start knitting with the larger sized needle on the next round.
* Also, I should add some detail about “picking up” the sts: working from right to left, insert the tip of the needle into the right half of the st as if to purl.
Thank you for your comments and questions!
January 22, 2007
From Susan — Poor Little Moebius
I took the finished Lace Tam to Amazing Threads in Maple Grove to drop it off and pick up Sally’s Moebius Lace Scarf. It looked so pretty up on the wall, I took a picture. I felt so bad for poor dejected little moebius that I wanted to take it out to dinner — fatten it up a bit.Â
My moebius may still get done, but for now I have moved on. Maybe this spring when the pretty color of the KSH and the warming temps re-ignite my moebial inspiration.
RE: the Lace Moebius (Fibertrends pattern AC39). Since I did not get a chance to share this tip with the class, I will share it with others who may be thinking of making this scarf. It involves the cast on.  I know many of you use the Cat Bordhi cast on method for doing moebius projects of all sorts, and it would probably work here as well. However, the pattern comes with its own instructions and the buyer of the pattern may not have the Cat B. book OR the desire to use her cast on method. Click this link to read about my tip under Knitting Tips.Â
I worked on Oregon quite a bit and am now at the NECK SHAPING. Progress – slow, but sure. The original Oregon is a v-neck cardi, but I am doing something a bit different with standard neck shaping.Â
I really have a hankerin’ for something new. I have a couple of ideas in mind. I am torn because on the one hand, you can only make progress when you stick to one thing, but on the other hand, you get bored and enjoy your knitting less. It is a dilemma. Knitting is a hobby and my passion and is supposed to be done for enjoyment. When it becomes boring and drudgery — that does NOT sound enjoyable to moi! However, I also REALLY enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when I finish something. Therein lies the dilemma.Â
Note to self: don’t think about it too much or your head will implode.
