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April 24, 2007

From Susan — Pick Up

Filed under: Knitting Tips — lv2knit @ 1:49 am

AuntieAnn asked the following question yesterday:

Picking up stitches seems to me to be one of those under-documented areas of knitting — which leg, or both legs? To twist, or not to twist? I wish I knew a way to pick up stitches where the back side looks as nice as the front. Any tips there, retired finishing pro?

I truly believe that picking up the sts around a neckline or front band can really make or break the appearance of the finished garment.  I am very fussy about the way the picked up edge looks — and I generally don’t give a rat’s patootie how the edge looks on the non-public side.  The exceptions are when the inside of the garment may be viewed by others: like a state fair judges OR, in the case of some collars, if they flip open so the inside is visible. 

When I pick up a standard neckline, I pick up as deeply into the garment as I need to to get a perfect edge.  I really don’t care if there is bulk that goes to the inside.  What matters to me is how it looks on the public side.  I go through the entire thickness of fabric because this tends to make a tighter and nicer looking edge.  And I never twist (though I might for a sock gusset).

Here’s an example of a very standard neckline, with any bulk being covered by the turned in edge:

pre-StatefairPics002.jpg

There are occasions with a cardigan when the front could flip open and the inside of the collar might be seen.  Several years ago I knitted the Berry Tree Cardigan (AS, Stillwater) for my daughter. 

Collar002.jpg

I experimented with a number of pick ups for the collar but there was always a bulky line on the inside, which I was afraid could be seen if the cardigan was unbuttoned. 

I invented (? — at least I’ve never seen it anywhere else) the following technique for this situation.  I’m not saying it’s perfect.  The picked up edge from the public side does not look as nice as a standard pick up, but the non-public side looks better.  It’s a trade off.

 

Susan’s Circular Needle Cast On
Use a circular needle the size needed for the collar.  Without cutting it from the ball, pull a length of yarn long enough to make all the sts needed for the pick up row of the collar (approx. 4-5 times the length of the neck opening).  Thread the end through a blunt tapestry needle.  Lay one end of the circular needle along the neck edge and make evenly spaced sts with the tapestry needle.  The sts will not pull out easily as with a regular pick up row.  To undo the sts, you’ll need to pull each out separately.
Use safety pins to mark off sections to help you with spacing.  Once all the sts are on the needle, start knitting from the other end of the needle with the yarn attached to the ball.  This method will not work well with yarn that is extremely nubby or frays easily.

Slide1-9.jpg

 Here is a picture of the collar:

Collar003.jpg

Here you can see both the right side and the inside edges.  Like I said, not as beautiful as it could be on the outside, but it is totally reversible. 

Collar.jpg

I don’t use this method very often because I prefer the right side to look nicer, but it is an option in certain situations.

As for my knitting tonight, I got very little done.  I worked solely on the lil Lady Bug sweater.  My friend has a deadline so that means I have a deadline ;). 

And where the @@##$%%$#@@!##$%#@@ is my Peacock Yarn?????

Addendum: I have heard of the method that Brigid describes, but I have never used it.  It seems like it would work well.  You pick up normally on the right side and then pick up the same number of sts on the wrong side, through the loop of the picked up st if possible.  You knit in the round until you get past the edge of the garment and then k2tog to join the front edge and the back edge into one.  It essentially covers the edge.  It can be bulky with heavy yarn, but would look very finished.

Michele with 1L asked about how I choose what to enter in the fair.  I knit what I like, but will sometimes time the project so that I have something to enter.  You can only enter one item per category, so if I was trying to choose between knitting a hat or mittens and I already made mittens that I was going to enter, I might make the hat instead.  I also hold items that I finish one year until the next if I already have something for that category.  That means I have to wear it carefully for the whole year so it doesn’t look trashed and worn out.  But I do focus on projects I will enjoy knitting and/or wearing above all, and the fair is just a side benefit that’s fun to do.

And do I know what the judges are looking for?  I wish!!  The years I think I’ll walk away with everything, I usually get skunked and then they’ll surprise me another year!

 

April 23, 2007

From Susan — Where am I?

Filed under: Back Story,Vittadini Nicole 1 in Silk — lv2knit @ 7:38 am

When you have too many things on your needles, it really is hard to see progress, n’est-ce pas?  Because I didn’t get much knitting done on Saturday, I felt that life owed me a good knitting day yesterday — and I did get a little bit done on a few things.

I got a start on the Mitered Felted Tote.  I am on the second square — and that’s after starting each square 2-3 times!  I didn’t like my cast on, didn’t like my pick up, etc.  Now that I’ve got those details settled, this should go forward rather than backward.  I love the colors and love the yarn.

MiteredFeltedTote.jpg

I also promised a friend that I would help her with her Baby Dale Lady Bug sweater:

LadyBugSweater.jpg

These things are absolutely adorable but the patterns are very hard to decipher.  They leave a lot to the imagination OR assume you have made them before and understand their construction.  I have never made one, but have finished many (I used to do finishing for a shop, but NO LONGER DO — no inquiries, please!!).  They are so cute and so much work.  I did have a brainstorm: I should make two of these now, one for each daughter, and then just pull them out when the grandchildren start arriving in 10+ (please, pretty please, no sooner than that, please!) years.

And, I have about ten inches on the silk Vittadini top.  If I was really smart, I’d be putting all my knitting time into that basket because I’ll be able to wear it soon.  But no one has ever accused me of being really smart ;). 

P.S. From Sally — Have you been wondering where I am? (crickets)

I’ve been in Boulder, Colorado, helping my daughter find a place to live next year. I just got back and haven’t had too much time knit this week. I’ll try to post tomorrow about where I am on Widdicombe Fair.

PPS from Susan — I re-posted my Free Knitted Beaded Amulet Bag Pattern

April 22, 2007

From Susan — Yarnover in Review

Filed under: Back Story — lv2knit @ 11:05 am

Yarnover was a rousing success!  Almost 300 attendees and some very notable knitting legends and legends-to-be.  Meg Swansen, Annie Modesitt, Beth Brown-Reinsel, Arnhild Hillesland, Susanna Hansson (who translates the famous original Bohus designs into English — you go, Girl!) to name a few. 

A newcomer to the group: Ann McCauley.  Her name sounded so familiar to me and then I realized that she also had a square in the Great American Aran Afghan (the Ann McCauley square).  Ann just wrote a book called The Pleasures of Knitting which has some gorgeous designs.  She wore a couple of them throughout the day, and they were very impressive.  It helped that she is a size 2 and weighs 15 lbs.  But I think at least some of the designs could work for normal-sized peeps.

And, now on to the important part: the freebies.  You all know how much I love freebies ;)!!  Look at the great back pack we received:

BackPack003.jpg

This could hold half of a good sized knitting stash AND is suitable for camping!!  My favorite is the set of stitch markers:

 StMarkers.jpg

OMG — are these gorgeous??  If my pierced ears worked I’d wear these as earrings! 

After a very humorous keynote by Annie M. we moved to our classrooms.  I taught the Beaded Amulet Bag class. And that’s the title of the class: “Beaded Amulet Bag.”   A woman (who shall remain unnamed) walked in, saw all my beaded amulet bags on display and said, “Well, I didn’t know that’s what we were going to be making.  I’ve made dozens of these.  I want my kit and then I’ll be leaving.”  I said she could have her kit once everyone paid their supply fees, so she left immediately and went off to complain to discuss with the planning committee that she had been misled misunderstood about the nature of the class and wanted to take something else.  It’s a Beaded Amulet Bag class — we were making beaded amulet bags!!!!  What did you THINK it was going to be!??!!

Anyway, to continue.  The class was great fun.  Here are some pictures of the class in progress.

Getting Started:

Yarnover2007001.jpg

Great concentration:

Yarnover2007003.jpg

How is yours coming along?

Yarnover2007004.jpg

There was also a Vendors Market where you could shop like crazy.  I resisted all temptation, but it was tough.  There were some really great shops there.  I did get to meet the wonderful owners of The Tangled Skein in St. Peter, Minnesota that Sally wrote about in January.  The Yarnery and Amazing Threads were there, and most of the other yarn shops in the Twin Cities had a presence. 

After the day wrapped up, the teachers were treated to dinner and then home to collapse.  All in all, a fine day. 

Put it on your calendar for next year: April 12, 2008.  I’ll be teaching again, so if you have any ideas for a workshop, let me know!

April 20, 2007

From Susan — Knitting Bliss

Filed under: Back Story — lv2knit @ 7:41 pm

I think I should have been a weather-person.  You know, “Here’s Rainey with the weather.”  I mean, Debbie Bliss gets a name that goes well with knitting!

Why bliss?  I spent the afternoon with Meg Swansen, just gabbing, knitting, eating wonderful cookies (thanks, Jean!!) and generally hanging out with very cool people: knitters.  Some very serious and accomplished knitters, such as Meg Swansen, Amy Detjen, Jean Christensen, and Theresa Gaffey — and some not so accomplished (there were several very new newbies hanging out). 

Meg is known for being a very warm, generous, and inclusive-type person.  She is totally famous and talented, but does not let it go to her head AT ALL.  She was talking about Al**e Sta**ore and that she is going to be having a conference call next week with her, Kaffe Fassett, and Barbara Walker — talk about your heavy hitters!!  They are going to be discussing how to help mark the 25th Anniversary of Vogue Knitting.  She said she won’t say anything — too intimidated by AS and her mega talent.  “I’m in such awe of her!” she said.  Hmmmm, and no one is in awe of you??!!??  Meg, you are one of my heroes!

As I mentioned, the very talented Theresa Gaffey was also at the Yarnery today.  Last night at knitting, Rosemary brought in a felted bag she had just finished — it was fantastic.  I had also seen a guy carrying one like it at the Yarn Harlot event and fell in love with it.  Rosemary said that Theresa had designed it, so of course I had to get that bad boy.  If you use NatureSpun, it gets a boucle appearance when felted which is tres cute.

FeltedBagbyTheresaGaffey.jpg

I chose pretty much the same colors.  It’s done in garter st so it should be a great mindless and portable objet d’art. 

Okay, now I have to go get packed up for tomorrow’s Yarnover Workshop.  I have ten fun people to hang with all day, plus shopping and visiting at the Vendor Market — is that too much bliss for one person to handle??  Woo Hoo!

Signed,

Susan Bliss 😉

PS — re: the pattern.  It is available through The Yarnery for sure, and I believe that Theresa sells her patterns elsewhere also, but I’m not sure where.  Just call The Yarnery (651-222-5793) and they will gladly send you a pattern.  They said they got a few sales of the felted egg pattern because of the reference here — way to go, Yarnery!!

PSS to WendyO — it IS such a dilemma!  I am still knitting on the Woman’s Continental (though now that spring is almost here, the heavy coat sweater seems less appealing).  The above felted bag has a very autumnal colorway, but NEEDS to be in those colours, or at least the first one does.  Could a summery version be far behind?  Too many projects…and no, the Peacock yarn is still not here 🙁

 

April 19, 2007

From Susan — A Little Vittadini, Please

Filed under: Vittadini Nicole 1 in Silk — lv2knit @ 11:30 pm

My brain has been marinating the last three days in computer training — egads!!  I’m in a total vegetative state. 

One nice break in the computer action is that I took my lil silk top along for the ride.  The other night I had to rip the whole thing out.  It was 5″ too big around and the knitting was sloppy.  It did not look good at all — so much for gauge swatches (“We don’t need no stinkin’ swatches!”).  I also did not like the stockinette hem — the roll thing was not attractive.  So, I started over and opted for 4×4 ribbing instead.  I went down a few sts and a needle size and I think it’s going to be fine.  It is hard to tell from the picture but it is kind of pretty in person.  The silk has a lovely sheen.  I also like the hardiness of this yarn.  I ripped it out twice so far and it looks like new.  It is much easier to knit on the smaller needles so this has become a great carry around project.

Vittadini.jpg
Vittadini Pattern Book 27 (Nicole 1, adapted) in Mulberry Silk, US size 6 needles

I’m still debating about my bigger, at-home project.  I started swatching a lace jacket from the recent issue of Knitter’s but it may not be “the one.”  There is always the alluring Bohus to think about!

Tonight was Knit Night.  Kind of a small group tonight, but great just the same.  Several of my peeps are making dishcloths with a US state on them — out of Sugar ‘n Cream.  Here is the link for the patterns.  They are kind of cute. 

Tomorrow afternoon Meg Swanson will be hanging out at the Yarnery from about 2-4 pm.  She’s in town for Yarnover, which is on Saturday.  I’m really looking forward to it, but I have a lot to do to get ready.

 

April 18, 2007

From Sally — Quick Answers to Some Questions

Filed under: Knitting Tips,Widdicombe Fair — surly @ 1:37 pm

Toby asked a few questions in the comments to my last post, and I thought I would answer them here to make sure she saw the answers.

1. I have never knit Fair Isle, but given your comments I think that I might try one of these one day. Would you recommend a class or is it possible to learn Fair Isle from a book?

That’s a hard one. If you want to try to learn how to knit fair isle two-handed (holding one color in one hand and the other color in your other hand), then you might want a class. True confession time: that’s not how I knit fair isle. I never got comfortable doing it that way and didn’t feel like taking the time to practice. (Thank goodness there are no knitting police.) When I did try it, I found that my gauge wasn’t as consistent as I’d like. I know that practice would greatly improve that, but — well — then I’d have to be practicing instead of knitting. So I drop one color and pick up the next; I’ve gotten very fast at doing that. I keep the dark color always hanging to my right and the lighter color to my left. It’s just how I do it.

Anyway, back to your question. The only tricky parts are cutting and finishing the steek. You might be able to find someone to give you a private lesson on that if you can’t find a class.

2. Do you order the kit from Virtual Yarns or purchse the yarn from your LYS?
Is the yarn in the kit a wool that is soft enough for a baby? Is the pattern available separately from the kit?

You can’t purchase these blanket patterns separately; they are only available as a kit from Virtual Yarns. Although it’s not the softest yarn in the world, it is much softer than other fair isle yarns in my opinion, especially after having been washed (by hand of course). Moreover, if you used a different yarn, you’d probably have to do some sewing in order to keep the yarn from unraveling after you cut the steek.

3. One thing I wasn’t clear on is where there would be steeks in a straight piece of knitting. I’ve read about them. I thought steeks were normally inserted in a sweater where the piece was knit in the round. Is the blanket knit in the round and then cut?

Yes. The blanket is knit in the round and then cut. It fits nicely on a 24″ circular needle. As I said in my first post, I started with a provisional cast on. When I finish all of the repeats, I’ll leave the live stitches on the needle. Then I’ll cut the steek, pick up stitches along one side, pick up the stitches from the provisional cast on, and then pick up the stitches from the remaining side. The border is then knit in the round as well. There will have be a LOT of stitches on the needle, at that point but I’ve done this before and the border is slow but not difficult.

From Sally — Widdicombe Fair

Filed under: Widdicombe Fair — Sally @ 11:03 am

I made the mistake of looking at the calendar, and realized it’s mid-April. I decided that I better knit the baby blanket I promised my husband I’d make for some dear friends who are expecting their first baby. I love making fair isle baby blankets. I’ve knit three or four of them. They’re fun, they’re quick, and they make a wonderful gift because they will never be outgrown.

I told my husband he could choose the one I knit from among several Jade/Alice Starmore patterns. He chose one I’ve already knit: Widdicombe Fair (which I often call the Carousel Baby blanket because the pattern is carousel horses). It’s available as a kit from Virtual Yarns in both a red and blue colorway. I’d already done the blue one for my niece’s baby so I was tempted by the red. My husband really really really wanted me to do the blue one again. So I am. Here’s a photograph of the finished one I’ve already made:

It’s kind of anti-climactic to post pics in progress once you’ve knit the whole thing, right?

Even though I just started it yesterday, I’m almost finished with the first repeat (out of five). One of the advantages of these baby blankets is that they’re only a little over two feet wide, which means that you have fewer than 200 stitches on the needle. That’s a lot fewer than I would have if I were knitting a fair isle sweater; it’s one reason the project goes quickly. Moreover, because these are, after all, baby blankets, the patterns are very obviously pictorial. It makes the pattern quite easy to see and follow without needing to consult the chart every few stitches. Finally, there is no shaping and only one steek. Therefore, I think that a baby blanket like this would be a good first project for someone thinking about doing fair isle. Just my opinion.

For this particular blanket, the directions tell you to knit two rows with one color before starting on the actual chart patterning. You are then supposed to pick those rows out later, when you want to have live stitches for the border. ???? I did not do that. Instead, I used a provisional cast on. I’m not sure what the advantage could possibly be of the other method.

I don’t do any finishing to the stranded back on these blankets, other than the finishing I do to the cut steek edges. The strands lightly felt and stick to each other anyway; I don’t foresee a problem with a baby’s fingers catching in them. I suppose you could sew a complementary fabric backing to it and if someone I give a blanket to wants to do that — that’s fine with me. I’m not going to do it, though. I knit them. That’s it.

While perusing the Virtual Yarns site to get the link for the blanket kit, I came across something else I’d like to knit: this Rheingold Wrap. It comes in a gold colorway, too. I’m intrigued by it. I’ve always wanted to knit the Persian Tiles one as well.

So many projects, so little time.

April 17, 2007

From Susan — Brief Response

Filed under: Eris Cardigan — lv2knit @ 4:57 pm

In answer to Melanie’s question, the width of the collar = 15″ across:

Slide1-8.jpg

I think that mine may be narrower because I pulled up the collar a bit with the i-cord edging.  I’ve seen other pictures and the collars seem wider.  The actual shoulders will conform to the wearer because of the raglan shaping.

My zippers just arrived and none of them are great — one is so bright it’s like neon green!  Whoa, put the lights out please!  One is really dark but kind of goes.  Not sure what I’ll do yet…

From Susan — Eris is Fantabulous

Filed under: Eris Cardigan — lv2knit @ 7:07 am

Eris is wonderful and I don’t mind saying so. I made a sweater that fits like it was made for me :). Yes, they ALL are, but in fact, only some actually do ;).

All of my trepidation went out the window post blocking.  It is a thing of wonderment — when all the variables came together in the right way.  One small problem: The sleeves are about 1-2″ too long, but that is totally easy to fix with top down sleeves!  I was also pleased that there is very little evidence of ‘rowing,’ which often happens with back-and-forth stockinette stitch.  [Rowing occurs when one’s purl row gauge is slightly larger than one’s knit row gauge].

Now, here is the source of my pre-blocking angst:

Slide1-7.jpg

The place where the collar joins the body of the sweater rolled over funny.  I know that’s pretty technical talk!  But it looked weird when I tried it on, and I was nervous it would not block out, but it did.  Woo Hoo!  Here it is after blocking, just flopped onto the table:

Erisfinis005.jpg

I think my short rows are better on the hem shaping — I had a bit more practice with my Japanese short rows by then.

The sweater fits great.  I will actually post a picture of me wearing it once I get the zipper sewn in.  In the meantime, here is Lucky Lettie, draped in the fantabulous Eris:

Erisfinis001.jpg

Erisfinis003.jpg
Yarn: Cascade 220, Color #9460
Needles: US 5’s (cabling) and 6’s (body)
Cost: about $60 (incl. pattern and zipper)!!!!!  It only took 7 skeins of yarn! (at least I think it took 7 — I bought a bag of ten skeins and three are untouched — not heavy mathematics there)

For those of you contemplating this pattern, I say go for it.  The pattern is extremely long, but it’s no more knitting than an average sweater.  Jenna just provides too much a lot of detail.  It is not as forgiving as the Rogue Hoodie if you have gauge issues (because of the collar and hem cabling), but it can work.  The one thing I recommend is to do after-thought I-cord edging (using 5 sts) and for that all I did was omit the edge sts along the neck and hem edges. It took extra time, but I believe it was well worth it.  I did this on the hood of Rogue with very nice results.

April 16, 2007

From Susan — Heartbreaking Reality

Filed under: Uncategorized — lv2knit @ 7:57 pm

Before posting another knitting update, which seems so frivolous and small, I have to speak about how much my heart is aching for the people in Blacksburg and those at Virginia Tech.  I cannot believe that as I sit here with my mundane life, there are people right now going through the most horrific and painful experience that anyone could imagine.  And people thoughout the world go through this every day while we go about our business totally unaware.  These events bring the reality home in a very personal way because we know it could be our son, our daughter, our sister — and it is too much to bear.

The folly of one man can bring down the many.

P.S. From Sally: I wondered whether to post anything on this today or not. It’s been weighing so heavily on me. Blacksburg is relatively close to DC; lots of students from this area attend Virginia Tech and I know families whose children are there.

It reminded me of 9/11, when my then-fourth grader was in school on Capitol Hill, just a few blocks from the Capitol. His classroom had a view of the Capitol Dome. When word came that a plane might be headed for the Capitol, it was a hopeless and helpless feeling. We are 20+ minutes away when there are perfect driving conditions, and of course all of the roads were closed. There was no way for us to go get him.

When that yellow school bus finally pulled up at our house after they started letting people out of the cordoned off area — well, it was a wonderful feeling. I have thought all day today about those parents who are not getting that relief and that happy ending.

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