theraineysisters knitting and so much more

When Carter and Herbert discovered the entrance to King Tut’s Tomb in the Valley of the Kings (1922), they knew they had unearthed something important that had to be shared with the world.  They didn’t build or invent the tomb, only uncovered it for the rest of the world to appreciate.

That’s how I felt when I discovered a new knitting technique that I call Invisible Stranding…only on a smaller scale.  Okay, a much smaller scale.  Okay, the analogy is overwrought and ridiculous.  BUT, I felt really excited about it and wanted to share it with the world.  Okay, the knitting world.

Invisible Stranding allows you to carry yarn across any number of stitches without catching the floats.  Catching floats creates a visible pucker in your knitting and often allows the other color to show through.  Invisible Stranding eliminates these problems and leaves the knitting smooth.

I was particularly interested in this method because of the Dale of Norway sweater I have been working on for the past few years 🙁 .  The carries on some rounds were greater than 30 sts and that was a problem.  Everything I tried looked awful.  But then I used this technique and it worked perfectly.  No dimples, no puckers, no color showing through.

In order to share my discovery, I needed a vehicle, so I decided to design a hat pattern.  Hats are small projects.  🙂  I used worsted weight yarn.  🙂  And only two colors.  🙂  My goal was to focus on the technique, not get side tracked with other design elements.  Plus, Malabrigo Merino Worsted feels like cashmere.  🙂

The result is my It’s Not About the Hat Pattern which is available on Ravelry.

It’s Not About the Hat

The pattern comes in 5 sizes, and both standard and slouchy fit.  I charted the color motif and also wrote it out line by line.  There are YouTube video tutorials for all aspects of the technique.

So this is what I have been working on the last few weeks!  It feels good to get it off my plate and out into the world!  🙂

Response to question from PurrlGurrl: PurrlGurrl asked if a newbie to fair isle/stranded knitting could attempt this project.  I agree with what Sally said about it being for people who are already familiar with stranded knitting.  No attempt is made to walk the knitter through stranded knitting.  It is only meant to introduce people to an advanced, additional  approach to the knitter’s toolbox.

BUT, that said, there is nothing stopping someone from trying it!!  There are multiple youtube videos that demonstrate the entire process start to finish!

Today was Yarnover — the one-day knitting extravaganza hosted by the Minnesota Knitters Guild.  I have been a member of the committee the last few years, but after last year’s event, I opted to take my leave.  So today I went as a civilian.  Loved it!!

I shopped like a drunken sailor.  We saw a knitting bag that said, “My Drinking Group has a Knitting Problem.”  I think my knitting group has a shopping problem!!

Let’s survey the damage…

1. Forget Me Not Shawl Kit from The Grinning Gargoyle — a cute little triangular neck piece in deep purples and grays.  The sale clerk was wearing one, so I had to buy it.
2. Seda Sock (a perennial favorite) in a color not unlike my Window to my Soul which I was wearing at the time called Cayenne
3. In the what were you thinking category – I bought TWO skeins of StevenBe’s Shop Hop Special Colorway.  Yarn is called Hedgehog Sock in the Peacock Tease colorway.  No idea yet what this will be…
4. Schachenmayr Select Couture Cotton with tiny seed pearls — for a little necklace-type thingie to wear to work.
5. After that it was kind of a blur.  Everything went dark and I saw stars.  Woke up with $165 worth of yarn.  Felt woosy.  Had to go sit down.  I bought the exact yarn to make this:

The yarn and colors were absolutely stunning.  I really liked it.  So, It ended up in my bag.  It takes 3 hanks of Alchemy Silken Straw (100% silk, colors  Borealis, Pony Up, and Radiant Orchid) and 2 of Haiku (40% silk 60% mohair, colors Pony Up and Radiant Orchid).

The greens and purples called me.  They must have also dialed the phone to Surly, because she made me go back and buy her the identical yarn!!  That’s why you “see double” in the picture above.  The only difference is I bought Dragon instead of Pony Up for the green.

I have to say that I truly enjoyed just hanging out and shopping with my peeps, and not worrying about the rooms and signage and coffee and lunch.  What a treat!!  It was wonderful seeing all my knitting friends.  Lori looked especially stunning in her orange shoes and sweater!!

I have also decided to get crackin’ on my Alchemy treasure trove instead of working on other projects that are looming.  I need a break into “shiny new.”

This may not be for anyone in particular but that never stopped me before!  When I see something cute that I want to knit, I knit it.  Nuff said.

Last Thursday at knitting group, a couple of people were knitting these: DMCs Top This! Hats.  OMG…these things are adorable!!

Kim and I ordered them immediately via my phone from Webs.  It looks like they just restocked — they have a huge supply!  We both bought the monkey and Kim got a Unicorn, which is absolutely adorable!

My Little Cutie Patootie

Anyway, they could not be cuter…plus reasonably priced, and a quick knit to boot.  Great gift to have on hand!!

It always amazes me when things actually work! I wore my new dress and my Window to my Soul sweater to work the other day and a- the dress fit and was COMFORTABLE and 2- the sweater looked cute.  Yay!!

Laura wore her blue Hitofude today so I grabbed a couple of pics as she headed to her car. Proof that she wears my knitting!!

That’s about how often I post lately, for which I apologize.  I’ve been knitting quite a bit but everything I’m working on is slow.  Plus, as is my nature, I often work on so many different projects at a time that it takes even longer for me to finish something.

So here is a project I finished quite a few weeks ago but didn’t post about because it’s difficult to photograph due to its short, “bat wing” shape. It looks cute on, but not so cute on my mannequin. I wore it quite a bit when I was in New York recently for a fun girls’ weekend.

The sweater is Eastbound, designed by Courtney Kelley for Interweave Knits. I used the yarn called for in the pattern: Fibre Company’s Organik. It’s a blend of merino, baby alpaca, and silk. Yes, it’s nice but as is the case with many soft, single ply yarns I expect it will pill. The color I chose is Solstice.

As I said, hard to photograph but easy to wear. (I’ll distract you first with my cherry blossoms.)

Thanks to everyone with their comments about fabric stores.  I did get to Crafty Planet and it has a ton of nice fabrics.  Mostly prints, and a decent yarn selection.  I could not decide on anything but I will definitely go back.  The cute logo says it all!

We Missed It

Our bloggiversary.  On March 20 it was our 9th anniversary.  We talked about doing something to commemorate it, but time flew by and nothing happened.  So, thank you all for reading our blog these past nine years!!!