Ugly Christmas Sweater

Yesterday I decided I needed a Christmas gift for a family we know, so I thought an ornament might be a good idea. 

As I searched through the Ravelry pattern database looking for something to inspire me, it occurred to me that an Ugly Christmas Sweater would make a fantastic ornament. 

I was right.

I'm not publishing an official pattern, but I am happy to share the charts and the general process for anyone who wants to make their own Ugly Christmas Sweater ornament.

I used Knit Picks Palette but any fingering weight yarn would work (I bought the original complete set of 30 balls when it first came out, so I had all the colors on hand),  I used size 2 needles, which gave me a gauge of 7.5 sts/in. The final measurements are about 3" across the sweater body (not including sleeves) and 3.75" in length.

 

Click on the image to embiggen.

Gray boxes indicate "no stitch," which means CO 22 sts, then inc 1 st in Row 4. At the top, they show where the neck bind off occurs and additional rows are worked for each shoulder.

Black dots represent purl sts (i.e. first 2 rows are k1p1 ribbing)

Single squares of color (like for eyes or buttons or nose) indicate French Knot. 

I knit the front and the back, using the intarsia technique, although I did strand the white across the back of the tree trunk and the star, since they were so small.  Later, I added French Knots for the snowman's eyes and buttons, as well as the reindeer's eyes and nose.  I knit in the reindeer's head, but used duplicate stitch to add the antlers.


I left the shoulder sts live for the front and back and joined using a 3-needle bind off.  I picked up the sts for the sleeves and knit down to the cuff.  For the sleeve with the snowflakes, I knit it all in green and embroidered them on later.  The snowman's arms were embroidered using outline stitch.


For the tree, I had some stretchy silver beading thread  that I used to string the "lights" and the tinsel was silver metallic embroidery floss, which was a real pain in the rear to work with.  Oh, and I added some fringe to the snowman's scarf with short lengths of the green yarn and I embroidered a carrot nose, too.


I did all the embellishing and wove in ends before doing the seaming.



I seamed using mattress stitch (just a 1/2 st each side for the sleeves, but a full stitch each side for the body).


I didn't bother picking up sts and knitting a ribbed neck, although I originally planned to.

Happy Birthday, Mother!

Today is my mother's 74th birthday, and I'm hoping that the package I mailed out to her on Saturday hits her doorstep today.

This fall I've been knitting a lot of things of my own design. Some have been relatively mindless knits, and can hardly be called "designs," like the plain stockinette socks I made for my daughter and her boyfriend (no, they aren't matching pairs, although the socks within each pair match, because I'm one of Those Knitters).

I'm back to working on Michael's Aran sweater that is part of my Level III work for the Master Hand knitting program.

I've done a lot of swatching of stranded designs for the Fair Isle hat (also for the MHK program), and have finally come up with a set of stitch patterns Sophia likes that I will turn into a hat, possibly over winter break.

I designed a shawlette pattern that I quite like (still not sick of it after knitting it three times) and it is currently with test knitters.

There was a cabled earflap hat of someone else's design that I completely re-engineered.

The package my mother will receive today (I hope!) was one of the few items I knit this fall that was not of my own design or heavily modified.

 My mother had back surgery in September and has been recovering well.  The pain meds have dampened her appetite and she still isn't very mobile, so she's been complaining about being cold.  Back pain means that it's a big deal for her to put on clothes and take them off, so I wanted to make her a shawl that would be easy for her to put around her shoulders if she needed some extra warmth and would stay put, even when she got up and moved around. This is especially important, because a couple of weeks ago she fell and broke a vertebra above the ones that were plated and pinned and screwed together in September.  She's going to be encased in what she describes as an "Iron Man suit" for the next month.

The pattern is Fundamentally Faroese, by Cheryl Oberle, and is knit bottom-up. What I like about Faroese shawls is that they are structured so that they stay on the shoulders.  When blocked and finished, the upper edge curves where it will lie across the shoulders.  The day after I finished it, I wore it all day, including while teaching, just to make sure I didn't need a shawl pin.  It stayed on my shoulders, no problem, never once slipping off.

The yarn is a handpainted, 2-ply DK from Rovings and is 70% Polwarth wool and 30% mohair.  I got this yarn from a Canadian vendor at Yarn Over a few years ago.  It has a gorgeous sheen and a wonderful halo. 

If this shawl wasn't intended for my mother, I don't think I'd have the strength to give it away.

Designing a Hat

I've finished my Level III swatches and I'm moving on to other parts.  I designed the Aran sweater this past summer and knit the back, without knowing for sure what the requirements were. I had a fairly good idea of what they were, plus I've knit several Aran sweaters, but I put it aside to rest after finishing the back, just in case there was a problem. 

I've been doing research on the two traditional knitting styles I'll write about for one of my reports, and since one of those is an Aran sweater, I thought I would let the sweater marinate a little longer while I dig into the history and traditions of the Aran sweater.

Meanwhile, I've been pondering my Fair Isle hat design.  Originally, I intended to knit a tam, but I do like to make projects for the MHK program that can be used later, if at all possible, so when Sophia mentioned she would like a hat with ear flaps, I reconsidered my hat style choice.

In my mind I could see a Chullu-esqe hat, with earflaps that were double-sided, to be warmer and to lie flat. (Either knit in the round, or double knit, although with double knitting I would have to contend with a difference in gauge and also, I kind of hate my selvedges in double knitting.)  I want the transition from main body of hat down to the flap to be continuous, and I don't want to have to sew anything.  I wasn't sure what to do about the hat cuff: ribbed, or hemmed, or straight stockinette with applied i-cord around the edges of the cuff and earflaps...

First, though, I needed some measurements.  That's not what I did first, but it is what I needed to do first.  No, first what I did was to wing it. 

I searched around online and found that ear flaps are not centered at the 1/4 and 3/4 points of the round (assuming the round begins at the back of the head).  They are actually set further back, so that one flap sits entirely within the first 1/4 of the round and the other entirely within the last 1/4 of the round.  Someone mentioned that the midpoint of one ear flap, running around the back of the head to the other flap midpoint was about 1/3 of the circumference. 

Knowing Sophia's head size, I calculated the flap positions and decided a 3 1/2" flap would be good.  I "knew" that my gauge on size 5 needles using worsted weight yarn would be 5.5 sts/in, so I calculated stitch counts, and cast on. 

After several problems with third grade arithmetic in which I decided that 37+37+56=110 (Hint: it does not), which was followed by deciding that the ear flaps needed to be moved even further back (Hint: they did not), I took the incredible step of actually measuring Sophia's head to find out where her actual ears were situated on her actual head, and then to take a second measurement in which I determined the correct ear flap width would actually be better at 3" and THEN I measured my stitch gauge and discovered I was knitting a bit looser than I anticipated, which meant that in addition to placing the too-large earflaps too far back on the hat, the hat was too big.

You can see now how it is that I am this close to becoming a master knitter!


Here's my revised plan for ear flap placement and stitch counts.

Circled numbers on right indicate stitch counts

While struggling with arithmetic, I did manage to come up with a good idea for how to work the ear flaps into the hemmed edge.

It occurred to me I could use a trick I thought of a few years ago, when making mittens with peasant thumbs.  There are a couple of techniques typically used in that scenario.  One is to knit the stitches where the thumb will be with waste yarn, return the waste yarn knit sts back to the left needle, then knit them again with the main yarn.  Later, the stitches above and below the waste yarn can be put on dpns, the waste yarn can be removed and the thumb can be worked in the round, using those live sts.

Another technique is to bind off the stitches where the thumb will occur, and then on the next round, cast on that same number, basically creating a button hole.  Stitches are picked up around the hole and the thumb is knit.  This creates an edge inside the thumb where the cast on and bind off sts were, but having the hole there as the mitten is knit allows the mitten to be tried on, so that you can be sure of how it is fitting and when to do the top decreases.

A third technique is a hybrid, which is to place the sts on waste yarn (threading waste yarn through the sts, rather than knitting them with waste yarn), and then casting on over these stitches on the same round.  When picking up sts later, you have a ridge only along the cast on edge.

My method, I think, gives the best of both worlds: it provides the thumb hole, so the mitten can be tried on as it's knit, but it leaves no edge inside the thumb when stitches are picked up.

It goes like this: slip the stitches onto waste yarn, and leave an extra long tail at the end of the held sts where the working yarn is hanging.  Now cast on with the LT cast on, using the waste yarn tail as the thumb yarn and the working yarn for the index finger yarn.  This creates a provisional cast on edge.  When it's time to put the stitches back on needles, the cast on edge has to be picked out, but you're left with live stitches.

So that's my idea for the hemmed hat as well.  On the purled turning round, when I get to the stitches where the ear flap will be, I put the number of stitches the ear flap will span on waste yarn, and then I cast on that number of sts, using the waste yarn tail and the working yarn, then I continue purling the round until I get to the next ear flap location.

Waste yarn holds sts resting on thumb and is used to cast on new sts.

Round is complete. That hole will become the live sts needed to knit the earflaps top down.

Hem is fused.  Earflap holes are ready.

Master Knitting - Level III Begins

I sent my re-submits for Level II a few days after I had received my initial review from the committee, and on Saturday, Oct. 1, I received notification that I had passed Level II.  Yay!

In her email to me, the co-chair who reviewed my work said the following:

I said in my letter that it was truly a pleasure to review your work.  And, I want you to know that I mean that.  Yours was by far one of the best Level 2 submissions I have seen as a Co-Chair.  The quality of your knitting, the quality of your written work, and your commitment to the program is outstanding.  You are “oh so close” to being a Master Knitter!

I'm still glowing from the praise!

I promptly ordered my Level III materials, but it took a few days to receive them.  I dove right in and have already knit quite a few of the 19 swatches and answered many of the questions.

Having just come off Level II, I'm very conscious of how to write the swatch instructions and the importance of writing them while I knit them!  For me, the hardest thing about writing the instructions is not being allowed to use photos or videos for steps that are particularly fiddly, tricky, or unusual.  The Twisted German cast on and the closed circular cast on are not easy to explain with just words!

My goal is to submit my binder by March 24, which is my 50th birthday.  I'm confident I can do it!

Master Knitting Update

I sent off my Level 2 binder for the Master Hand Knitting program at the end of July.  Yesterday morning, I received it back, along with a letter from the co-chair of the committee who reviewed it. (Level 2 is reviewed by two committee members and a co-chair.)

I am happy to say I have no knitting re-submits to do.  My knitting book reviews were all accepted, as was my History of Knitting report.  Overall, they were very complimentary about my submission, and told me it was "one of the most skilled Level 2 submissions that we have seen." 

Resubmits consist of the following

• Patterns for three swatches: one lace swatch, one cable swatch and the cable flare swatch.  
• Gauge worksheet and answer for Question 8. 
• Question 12 was accepted, but clarification was requested.
• Question 14: "Your discussion is excellent." Please resubmit paragraph with directions for swatch.

They also suggested I submit a pattern for the vest I knit, even though it's not a requirement for Level 2.  I had made extreme modifications to the vest pattern.  The only things I actually used from it were the dimensions and stitch gauge.  The original pattern was a two-color  stranded design knit in the round with steeks.  My vest was knit flat and seamed and had a cable-lace pattern in the front.  I had thought I might need to write the pattern, and did about it at the Knit and Crochet Show.  At the time I was told it wasn't necessary (and they're still saying that), but they're recommending I do so because it'll be good practice for Level 3.  I'd just as soon get feedback now on my garment pattern writing skills, since it's clear I need some work on my swatch pattern writing!

On the whole, I'm very happy.  Level 2 was a LOT of work and I'm glad there are so few re-submits.  This means I will be able to jump into Level 3 very soon!

More news on the knitting class front

I forgot to mention the other day that I will continue to offer monthly clinics for people working through the Master Hand Knitting program.  These clinics are a way for knitters to get support for their work, to set monthly goals (if that helps them), and to learn techniques in the program they may not have known previously. 

During the fall, I offer these clinics on the third Saturday of the month from noon-2pm.  The rest of the year, they're on the 4th Saturday.  That seems to work out best for avoiding major holidays.

The Master Hand Knitting program is a three-level correspondence course offered by The Knitting Guild Association (TKGA).  It's an educational program, and the time to complete any given level is unlimited.  Each level consists of swatches that demonstrate particular techniques (with questions associated with the swatches and techniques), reports and/or reviews, as well as projects.  Design and pattern writing is also covered.  As you complete each level, you send it in to a committee who reviews your work and then each swatch/project/question/report/pattern is reviewed and is either accepted, or subject to resubmission.  Once everything has been accepted, and you've passed the level, you can get the instructions for the next level.  You can find out more about the program on TKGA's website.  The Education menu has a link to the Master's Program page.


I have found the program to be an invaluable learning experience.  It's not for everyone, and not everyone who starts with Level I will want to see the whole program through to the end.  Whether your goal is to simply be a better knitter, or to be able to design your own garments (to sell patterns or not), or because you have an obsessive need to learn all about something that your enjoy doing, you may find the program fits with your goals as a knitter.

Fall Project Classes

In addition to beginning knitting, intermediate classes, techniques classes, and Thursday night clinics, which I announced in my last blog entry, I'll be teaching several project classes this fall at Needlework Unlimited.  You can sign up directly online, in person, or by calling the shop.

Cookie A Sock Club

BFF - a Sept/Oct Sock Club Selection

I love Cookie A's sock patterns and I'm not alone.  Thousands of knitters have bought her two sock books, Sock Innovation and knit.sock.love.  If you're one of those knitters who have her books (or want them), but haven't gotten up the nerve to actually knit any of the patterns, the Cookie A sock club might be just the thing you need to get started on Cookie's fantastic, well-written patterns.

For each class, I've chosen two sock patterns that are similar in their construction or their nature, with one sock pattern being easier and the other being more of a challenge. Each student selects the sock that suits his or her level of adventure.

For all the socks, we'll talk about re-sizing options and other fit considerations, plus tips and tricks for getting the best finished results.

For the Sept/Oct sock club I've chosen socks where the pattern is set up in columns of cable patterns.  The easier sock (and probably the easiest Cookie A pattern of all) is BFF, which has columns of 4-st rope cables.

Marilinda, the more challenging
Sept/Oct Sock Club Selection

BFF is easy to size up or down, and isn't too much of a step beyond a plain sock.  If you've never tried cables, or reading a chart, or just haven't tried knitting with finer sock yarn, this might be the sock for you.

The more challenging sock is Marilinda.  This sock also has columns of the repeating stitch pattern, but the number of stitches and rows in the repeat is greater, and includes several different techniques.  Amongst those techniques is the exact same cable crossing the BFF sock has, but also a faux traveling cable as well as a Japanese faux cable.  This sock also continues the stitch pattern down the back of the heel.

Both patterns for the Sept/Oct sock club are in Cookie's newest book, knit.sock.love.

Foot detail of Kai-Mei

November's sock club features one sock from knit.sock.love and the other from her first book, Sock Innovation.  These socks are both asymmetrical (there's a right sock and a left sock), with the pattern traveling across the leg and/or foot.

Pointelle, the November Sock Club
challenging sock

The easier sock is Kai-Mei, from Sock Innovation.  This sock has a plain, ribbed leg, and then the magic occurs when a simple, but unusual and beautiful pattern travels from the outer ankle across the instep.

Pointelle, from knit.sock.love is the more challenging sock for the November sock club.  The pattern travels down and across the leg and the foot, using a more intricate lace pattern than Kai-Mei.


But wait, there's more!

In addition to the sock club classes, I'll be teaching three project classes from another favorite designer of mine: Ysolda Teague.

There's a hat, a scarf and fingerless mitts, all from Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits Two.  These projects all include techniques that are not typical in hats, scarves and mitts, making them much more interesting to knit for those who have knit these types of projects in the traditional manner.  It's great to learn new techniques on small projects.  Plus, any of these would make great holiday gifts!

Kicking off the Ysolda love-fest is a two-week class for the  Scroll Lace Scarf, which I'll teach Saturdays, Sept 17 and 24, 10 am-noon.  This is the least boring scarf I've ever knit--it's no 6-foot long rectangle!  There's a provisional cast on, and a  lace pattern that is simple enough for first-time lace knitters, but not boring for those who are more experienced.

Stitches are picked up for the body of the scarf, with short rows worked to create the depth at the center.  The short row technique I'll teach is a German method (no wraps!) that gives the same result as Japanese short rows without all the pins hanging off the back of the work.  Finally, there's a picot bind off that complements the larger picot look of the lace edge.  Lots of great techniques packed into one great little scarf!

We'll also discuss how to block the scarf to open up the lace and get the best finished result.

Shorter version of Ripley
with the lace band.

Mondays in October (the 3rd and 10th, 6-8pm), I'll be teaching the Ripley, hat.  This hat also has some great techniques, but with several options to suit your preference.  First, the band can either be simple garter or simple lace, but whichever you choose, the band is knit sideways, then grafted to form a tube.  Stitches are picked up around one edge of the tube and the hat is then knit in the round.  The gathers are done using a tuck stitch technique, and can either accent the side of the hat (for the short version) or provide support for at the back of the hat (for the longer, slouchy version) .

Saturday, Nov 5 and 12, 10 am-noon, I'll be teaching Veyla fingerless mitts.

Like Ripley and the Scroll Lace Scarf, Veyla starts with a lace strip but ends with buttonholes.  Stitches are picked up and the hand is worked in the round.  The thumb gusset increases are unusually placed YOs, and there's a final lace inset at the knuckles.  These mitts are not identical, and we will discuss the differences in the charts.  We'll also cover how to block the lace for the best finished result.

All three of the Ysolda patterns include charts for the lace.  If you are new to chart reading, this is a great way to learn how to read them!

Fall Classes

There are tons of classes scheduled for this fall at Needlework Unlimited, my neighborhood yarn shop, and the place you can usually find me teaching several times each week.

You can find out more specifics on the Needlework Unlimited website, as well as sign up online.

Classes for Beginners
If you know someone who is interested in learning to knit, I teach Knitting 101 and 102 every
month, rotating the days and times when I offer it.  Knitting 101  is two 2-hour sessions long and covers casting on, knitting, purling, and binding off, but often covers more.
Knitting 102 is one 2-hour session tailored to the students who take it, whether it's getting started on a new project, or learning more techniques.  Some students take this class several months in a row as they start new projects and need to learn new techniques.  K102 is typically scheduled a week after K101 ends.

Clinics - Thursdays 6-8 pm
I am at the shop (almost) every Thursday evening from 6-8 pm for knitting clinics.  If you're having problems with a project or want help mastering particular technique and you need some one-on-one help, this is the time to get it.  Cost is $15 for two hours.  (No clinic Sep 8 or Thanksgiving)

For students enrolled in my project classes, you can stop in for my clinic and receive extra help on the class project at no charge (while the class is still going on).

Techniques classes
These techniques are not project specific, but offer alternative methods for familiar and/or traditional techniques.

Cabling without a cable needle.  Saturday, Sept. 10, 10 am-noon
This class is for knitters already familiar with cables.  There are times when you just can't get around using a cable needle, but other times you can work cables without a cable needle.  This is particularly handy for cables and twists of just a couple of stitches that occur frequently, when a cable needle can really slow you down.  This class will teach you how to cable without a cable needle, whether you are working basic 2-stitch knit twists, knit/purl cables, or traveling (possibly twisted stitch) cables.  You'll need needles with pointy tips.

Knitting in the round without dpns. Saturday, Oct 8, noon-2 pm
Magic Loop, Traveling Loop, and Two Circs are methods of working small to medium circumference items without the need for double pointed needles.  This class will cover all three techniques, including when it's possible to use each technique, when the techniques are interchangeable and when one technique has an advantage over another.  We'll also discuss the application of these techniques for larger circumference knitting.

Continental knitting. Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 am-noon.
This class is for knitters who "throw" or "flick" the yarn with their right hand and are interested in learning to knit with the yarn in their left hand, either as a substitute for their current method of knitting, in order to manage one color of yarn in each hand for stranded color knitting, or simply to expand their repertoire.

Intermediate Knitting Techniques
I'll be offering three techniques classes aimed at knitters who want to move on to becoming intermediate knitters.  Each class meets once for two hours.

Increases and Decreases. Wednesday, Oct 12, 6-8 pm
This class will focus on various single and double increases and decreases.  Some patterns specify a particular type of increase or decrease and some leave it up to the knitter.  This class will cover not only how to do each type of increase, but when and where they are best used, allowing you to select the one that suits you and your project best, regardless of what the pattern says.

Cables and Lace. Wednesday, Oct 19, 6-8 pm
Cables and lace are among the most commonly used techniques for textured designs and run the gamut from very simple to highly complex.  This class will teach the nuts and bolts of each of these techniques, allowing you to step up the complexity of your projects with confidence.

Reading patterns and charts, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6-8 pm
Written patterns are full of abbreviations and short hand, which can quickly get tricky if you don't understand the rules behind their structure and how to read and interpret them.  We'll cover the basics of how written patterns are set up, as well as delve into the more complex, such as the infamous "AT THE SAME TIME" instruction.

Charts can seem overwhelming until you understand that the symbols aren't random and that they can actually help you see what you're supposed to do as well as act as a way of checking your work and seeing where you're headed.  We'll discuss charts for knitting flat and in the round.

Tomorrow, I'll update you on the project classes I'm teaching.  If you can't wait, you can find information on all the fall classes at NU on their website here.

It's State Fair Time

I love going to the Creative Activities building at the Minnesota State Fair to look at all the hand crafts, particularly the knitting.  Until a couple of years ago, I never looked into how to enter a knitted item into the competition, and certainly never planned my knitting during the year with the idea of entering the fair.


I entered one item a couple of years ago in the "vest, textured pattern" category.  I had done a very nice job on the finishing work for the vest I had knit for Level II of the Master Hand Knitting program.  I didn't win a ribbon, although I got quite a high score (in the mid 90s).  It was apparent that vests that won ribbons had texture patterns on the front and back, rather than just the front, as mine had.  The sweater categories are divided out by "limited texture" and "texture," but the vests aren't, so it worked to my disadvantage that my vest had a plain stockinette back. 

Last year I didn't get my act together in time to enter anything, but this year, I managed to look up the dates before the deadline had passed. (I really ought to put those dates in my calendar!) I had a couple of things I wanted to enter, but as I inspected the two pairs of socks that I was particularly proud of, I could see that neither pair would do, as there was obvious wear on the soles, either because of some felting on the inside of the heels in one case, or soiled soles in the other.  (Again, I don't plan ahead for fair-worthy items.  I ought to put them away until after the fair is over, but that never occurs to me.)

I decided to enter just one wee hat, and as it turned out, the competition was Garment Making, not Needlecraft, as it was an infant's hat and baby items are not part of the hand knitting categories.

This morning and afternoon, I received two separate text messages on my phone with attached photos.

Here's what my friend Rosemary sent to me.

Second Premium
Garment Making, Infant's and Toddler's garments,
Bonnet or cap, knitted

Yarn Over and the Technical Trio

Yarn Over was this past weekend, and I had a fantastic time.  I took two great classes - one from Susanna Hansson and one from Fiona Ellis and both were great.  I love to see how other teachers teach, and it's even better when I learn something new.

Perhaps the best part of the weekend was having breakfast Sunday morning with TECHknitter and Joan Schrouder.  We've been planning this breakfast for months, and I couldn't wait to lay my eyes on TECHknitter.  Who hasn't wondered about the face behind the fabulous knitting blog?

We had a fantastic time geeking out and mutually admiring each other and talking about Ravelry, which is what really brought us together.  When the waiter brought our breakfast, we asked him to take our picture.

The whole time at breakfast, I kept wondering how TECHknitter could eat breakfast with that giant black rectangle strapped across her eyes. Amazing.  Also, I could swear my cardigan was completely buttoned up when I left the house that morning.  And doesn't Joan look gorgeous in that blue shawl?

New Pattern, New CraftEDU Class

I've been busy lately working on a new design and new class for CraftEDU.  The pattern is also available for sale as a Ravelry download for $4.50. buy now

It's a sideways cabled hat that incorporates short rows for the shaping, plus lots of other techniques not normally found in a hat, like grafting in pattern and picking up sts.  Yarn weight and needle size allow you to size the pattern up and down.  I used Koigu KPPPM and 3.0mm needles for the baby hat in the tea cup and good old Cascade 220 and size 7/4.5mm needles for the magenta and periwinkle hats above.

There's a free Preview of the class at CraftEDU, and we're running a BAZINGA! through noon tomorrow (Mountain time) that will give you a discount off the price.  The class includes in-depth photo tutorials with lots of voice over naration, as well as video tutorials, and runs close to an hour and a half in length.  There are even tips on designing with a graft in mind!  A boatload of great techniques to learn with just one hank of yarn!

Once again, the great thing about a CraftEDU class is that you can skip the parts on techniques you already know, or watch the techniques that are new or troublesome over and over again.

I plan to offer this techniques-packed class locally, too, so stay tuned for more information. 

Teacher, teacher

This fall I've been a busy, busy knitter, although you wouldn't know it based on my lack of blog posts! Much of what I've been knitting has been samples for my January to April-ish (and beyond) classes at Needlework Unlimited, which I will post more about in a couple of days. (If you're local and you can't wait for that, at least some of my upcoming classes can be seen on the Needlework Unlimited class schedule here, or if you stop by the shop, Marcy has been busy putting up the samples on the wall.) Karen's first grandbaby arrives this spring, so we have lots of baby-centric project classes planned. I will offer additional classes in the late spring, but those can't get posted until I finish the samples and get my course descriptions written!

In the midst of my sample knitting, I was asked to become an instructor at CraftEDU, which is a website devoted to teaching all sorts of crafts, particularly at more advanced levels. The project classes at CraftEDU will all be my own designs. In the past, I've tended toward custom design for one-off projects and have rarely written up the patterns. I'm looking forward to building my portfolio of pattern designs as well as teaching these projects. My classes will provide the opportunity to expand my students' technique repertoire as well as demonstrate how to fix mistakes common to the specific project (I am well-familiar with any mistakes that can be made, because I make them myself. And then I fix them!). I will also offer pointers on adapting the techniques for students' own designs.

The classes are structured as "broadcasts," which combine photos and tutorials on the techniques used in the class, along with more detailed audio explanations for the information covered on each page of the broadcast (think of it as sort of a PowerPoint on steroids). I have the ability to embed video, too, when that works better than photos. When students buy a class, they get 12 views of the class or access for 12 months, whichever comes first, so they can work on the project and review it at their own pace. So whether you can only watch on weekends or at 2 am or you live in Australia or the U.K., you can take the class. They'll get downloadable PDFs of the class screen shots, plus a copy of the pattern. There are free previews of each class that allow you to hear/see more information about the class, the materials required and the techniques that will be taught. I'm really excited about this!

You can join the CraftEDU community here. Once you are a member, you can join my online classroom here. You can post comments, ask questions, find a link to my classes, amongst other things. As a member of my classroom, you'll get notified when I post new classes. I hope you'll join me!

My first class at CraftEDU will be the Reversibly Cabled Scarf I introduced a couple years ago. I taught it at NU several times. Needlework sells the pattern as well. Monika's Quilt and Yarn Shop, in Park Rapids, MN carries it, too, and it can also be purchased as a PDF download on Ravelry.


I'm always interested in hearing what my students would like to learn. If you have ideas, whether it's for a class you'd like to see me teach at NU or a class you'd like to see on CraftEDU, please let me know!

I get around..and so can you

I've been working on handouts for a class I'm teaching Saturday morning at Needlework Unlimited, and it occurred to me that I ought to work harder at letting the world know what and when I'm teaching.

So here's what's on my teaching schedule through the end of the year.

Saturday, Oct. 30, 10 am-noon
Knitting in the Round without DPNs
There's no need to use dpns for small circumference items, and no need to switch from a regular circ to dpns when you've done too many decreases to continue with dpns. This class primarily covers Magic Loop and the Two Circs methods, but I'll also cover the Modified Magic Loop and Traveling Loop techniques, and cover when one technique might be preferable over another. We'll also discuss needle types and lengths that are best for each technique.

(It's not too late to register for this class -- there are still a few spots left. More information here.)

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 10 am - Noon
Continental Knitting
A day time class for knitters who throw the yarn with their right hand and want to learn to "pick" the yarn while it is held in their left hand. You must know how to knit and purl already.
More information here.

Wednesday, Nov 3 and 10, 6 - 8 pm
Knitting 101
Do you have a friend who keeps telling you she/he wants to learn to knit? Get 'em signed up!
They'll learn to cast on and knit in the first class and purl in the second. Additional skills taught to those who catch on quickly.
More information here

Saturday, Nov. 6, 10 am - noon
Finishing Techniques
Bring your projects that need to be put together and learn to seam properly, pick up stitches for those button bands, or you can practice seaming on swatches.
More information here.

Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 am - noon
Oops! Fixing Your Mistakes
Tinking, frogging, laddering down -- you name it, I can teach you to fix it.
More information here.

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 6-9 pm
Twinkle Mittens
Cozy mittens made with super thick and soft Twinkle yarn can be completed in just a couple hours.
More information here.

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 6 - 8 pm
Knitting 102
Never learned to purl? Don't know how to read a pattern? Have no clue how to decrease or increase? Whatever you want to learn next, I'll teach you.
More information here

Saturday, Nov. 20, noon - 2 pm
Third Saturday Techniques and Master Hand Knitting Clinic
Through the end of the year, I'm having drop-in (or register ahead of time!) clinics. Anyone is welcome to come for help, but this is also a time for knitters working on the Master Hand Knitting program to get some feedback on techniques, ask questions and get some guidance for resources. It's also a nice time to connect with other knitters in person who are going through the program. I always bring my Level I binder (with the judges comments) and my in-progress Level II binder. (Starting in January, I will be offering Saturday clinics more frequently.)
More information here.

Tuesday, Nov. 30 6-8 pm
Finishing Techniques
Same as above. Get those holiday projects finished up!
More information here.

Saturday, Dec. 4, 11, 10 am - noon
Knitting 101
Give a friend or relative a holiday gift they won't forget -- the ability to knit!
More information here

Wed., Dec. 16, 6-8 pm
Finishing Techniques
Once again, I'll be at the shop ready to help you get 'er done.
More information here.

Saturday, Dec. 18 10 am - noon
Knitting 102
Learn whatever skill is next on your knitting to-do list.
More information here

Saturday, Dec 18, noon- 2 pm
Third Saturday Techniques and Master Hand Knitting Clinic
Drop-in (or register ahead of time!) clinic. Anyone is welcome to come for help, but this is also a time for knitters working on the Master Hand Knitting program to get some feedback on techniques, ask questions and get some guidance for resources. It's also a nice time to connect with other knitters in person who are going through the program. I always bring my Level I binder (with the judges comments) and my in-progress Level II binder.
More information here

Toot, toot!

That would be the sound of my own horn.

I found out yesterday I won Ravelry's Bobby Award for Most Educational Raveler. A great honor, and a very big thrill!

Ask a Knitter archive page

For any of you who have clicked on the sidebar link to Ask a Knitter archives and have been frustrated by the fact that you couldn't actually get to the archives, then today you are going to be thrilled by this news:

The archive link works now.

That is all.

Novel(ty) Hats

So I've decided that my heroine's brother is a Firefly fan, the type of guy who would go to Comic-Con if he could afford the airfare, and that my heroine is going to make her brother a Jayne Cobb hat. It's the perfect project for a new knitter - the worse it looks, the better, as Ma Cobb was not an expert with the yarn and needles. That's perfectly fine for Jayne, after all, as Wash said when Jayne first put on the hat, "A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything."

I hied myself to Michael's the other day, to get me some Red Heart Super Saver. All I can say is: wow. I am not anti-acrylic. I used it often for baby sweaters, and only last year I used it to make mittens for my LA-based nephews, who don't need wool, but I've always bought it at my LYS, Needlework Unlimited, which has very reasonably priced acrylic yarn and best of all, the stuff they carry is soft and the colors look good, not garish.

Not so the Red Heart, which is kind of the point, I guess, when it comes to making a Jayne Cobb hat, although I wonder if Ma Cobb would have used wool, possibly sheared from her own sheep?

I looked through several existing patterns for Jayne's hat, and compared them to what I saw in the clips.

Most of the patterns call for working 4 or more rounds of ribbing (some k2p2, some k1p1) before switching to stockinette. It's clear from photos and screen shots that there is not that much ribbing, at least around the front of the hat.


I think the reason none of the Jayne hats I've seen look quite right (aside from the fact that most knitters have appallingly even tension) is that Ma Cobb may have been doing some stealth short rows. The front of the hat has only about 6 or 7 rows of orange, and one row of k1p1 above a long tail cast on that is done in k1p1 pattern, but over the ear flaps, the orange stripe is wider, as is the ribbing. (59 seconds in to the video, you can see the side of the hat more clearly.) The hat looks like it's actually shaped to curve around Jayne's face. Cunning, indeed.

So now I have to decide if I want to make a Jayne Cobb hat that a beginner could actually make, or do I want to replicate the actual hat, which was clearly made by a very good knitter who was only pretending to be bad.

I may do both. When I fired out an email to my writer friends, asking who was a Firefly fan, three of them replied. One said, "Shiny!" and other mentioned she loved "Captain Tight Pants," and the other, when I revealed that there might be a terrible hat giveaway, raised her hand and said something to the effect of "Me! Me! Pick me!!!"

Novel Knitting

So I'm back to writing fiction again after a 5-year hiatus that coincides with my complete obsession with knitting. I had previously had a very intimate relationship with knitting, and then took a 5-year break during which I spent a lot of time writing and merely nodded to knitting once a year on the occasion of a baby shower. Five years ago, I became a knitting stalker. No one has staged an intervention or presented me with a restraining order, but it's only a matter of time.

The knitting obsessiveness came in response to losing my writing voice. Writing was torture, my internal critic sat on my shoulder and bellowed into my ear with an megaphone, "You SUCK!" and nothing I wrote -- even emails -- sounded like me. I wanted to remember what it was like to do something creative for the pure fun and joy of it. So I came back to knitting, and I came back hard.

Eventually, my voice did come back, and I found myself writing more and more, but still not fiction. This fall, when I decided I wanted to write fiction again, NaNoWriMo sounded like a great idea to me, except for the part where I didn't actually have an idea for a story. I had an idea for a character, but I didn't know much about her. I had no ideas for other characters, no idea about setting, plot, nothing.

Turns out that when I have to write 50,000 words in one month, there's no time to think about what to write, and no time for my internal critic to haul herself into a comfortable spot on my shoulder and dish out negative self-talk. I owe the world to the guy who created Write or Die. If I hadn't had that program reminding me to keep writing (no thinking!), I wouldn't have made it.

So that was November. I let the book marinate for December, and signed up for a "Working on Your Novel" class at the Loft that started a couple of weeks ago. I knew I would need concrete goals and deadlines to work through revisions on this book, and the threat of public humiliation if I didn't meet goals, because I have the least amount of discipline of any person I know. Big personality flaw, but that's who I am.

Turns out that most of what I wrote will be thrown out (no real surprise), but the good part is that I have characters, those characters have external goals and internal conflicts, which means I can have plot and character arc (always good news).

One of the things I do to get the theme of the book nailed down - what it's really about - is to make a collage of the characters, the setting, and main plot points. I have collected a lot of photos and little objects that represent the book, but I want to do something else, too.

This book has knitting in it - one of the characters is an indie dyer and her grandmother/great aunt (not sure which yet) has a yarn shop she's ready to retire from. While the book doesn't center around the shop, this older woman is the catalyst for the chain of events that is the plot and she is very important to all the other characters, including the antagonist.

I want to keep my two creative processes joined, so that when I take a break from writing to knit, the knitting keeps me in the world of the story. To do that, I want to knit something that represents each character in some way.

So, for example, the older woman--Franny-- has lace curtains hanging in her kitchen. So I'm knitting a lace curtain. Not a full size one -- I would go insane doing that -- but a smaller one, shorter, and with fewer multiples, so I can get the thing done.


"Rose Leaf" Design
Curtains
First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, by Marianne Kinzel (this book would have been new when Franny made her curtains).
Yarn: Coats Opera 30 crochet cotton (the pattern calls for #60 crochet cotton, which is not half as thin, it turns out, but is harder to come by, so I settled for #30, of which Needlework Unlimited had plenty of, in lots of colors, and which seems fine enough to me)
Needles: US 1/2.25mm

For the hero, who I named Hank, even before I knew there would be yarn, I need to knit a pair of socks - the socks the heroine sees him pull on when she first meets him. Something interesting enough that she would notice them, but manly enough that a guy like him would wear them. He's a Mr. Fixit guy with carpentry skills, on a break from what he normally does to earn a living (professional poker player). He's having trouble moving forward in his life because he keeps trying to fix the past/keep things as they've always been. So I need a sock pattern that fit his personality.

The heroine, Penny (not crazy about this name, I'm open to suggestions), has never knit before, but will learn how. She's all about the future, wants to forget her past and where she came from. She's also an expert in deceptive language. I have a scene where she's in the shop, having walked for quite a long distance in heels and she has blisters. She puts on a pair of felted slippers on display in the shop which are shaped like cowboy boots. They're not conventional, which scares her, because she's pulled herself up from a financially strapped background, and she works hard to fit in and not appear different. But she loves those slippers. I want those slippers. I may have to design them myself. Don't you think red cowboy boot slippers, with needle-felted swirly designs on the leg would be really cool?

(Edited to add photo below)

Only felted. A search of Ravelry reveals that there are crocheted cowboy booties (not felted). Clearly, this is a void waiting to be filled.

The indie dyer (I'm calling her Sookie) needs something funky - either an asymmetrical cardi, or a funky shawl or hat or maybe fingerless mitts that make A Statement. Something that represents her artistic self and independence, and uses color in a unique, but beautiful way. This is going to be hard for me. Unique color choices scare me, because I have some color vision deficiencies.

Sookie has a love interest, a more traditional guy who owns a downtown bar. I'm thinking some sort of subtle scarf that could be tucked into the neck of his wool overcoat. Like Henry, only not Henry, because while that is a terrific looking scarf, I think I would poke my eyes out with my needles if I had to knit it. On the other hand, there's nothing that says I can't knit a very small Henry scarf. Considering the size of the lace curtain I'm knitting, I could get away with a scarf about a foot long and 3 inches wide. Hmmm.

The heroine's brother is a young guy - never went to college, but smart, works manual labor jobs, a nice guy, but with simple tastes. I'm thinking a watch cap. Navy blue, maybe gray. Or maybe he's not like his sister. Maybe he doesn't care what people think about the way he looks. Can't decide.

The antagonist is another older lady, one who needs to control her world. She's getting something made of acrylic.

The heroine's mother is awful. So awful I don't know if I can even knit for her. She's the kind of person who would find fault in anything you knit for her. The kind of person who'd rather have a lottery ticket than a hand knit anything. Huh. That's interesting. I'll have to use that.

So I'm looking for pattern ideas. Anyone?

Soft and Shiny

Sophia needed to do some research this weekend at the History Center's library in downtown St. Paul, so while she was doing that, I stopped in at Treadle Yard Goods on Grand Ave. and shopped for buttons for my Bristow Cardi.

At knitting group the other day, I was sewing in the sleeves and the subject of buttons for the Bristow came up. I told the other women I was thinking of gold buttons, but when there was a simultaneous cry of "No!" from the group it occurred to me that I might be on the wrong track. I can knit people, but I'm not the best accessorizer.

The cardi is mostly stockinette, with most of the detail occurring right next to the button bands. I was instructed to get something that wouldn't pull attention away from the knitting. Something plain. Not shiny. A dull pewter, maybe. Or mother of pearl. Maybe a matte black button.

Armed with that information, I walked into Treadle Yard Goods and headed for the counter where the buttons were on display. A lovely woman asked what she could help me with, and boy was I glad she asked. Turned out she was a knitter, too, so she understood the necessary properties of a sweater button. She had a great idea about the right color, too: some sort of pearlized black would be good, she thought.

She was right.

This afternoon I sewed on the buttons, and after the Vikings game was over Michael took photos.



Can you see the buttons?


Kind of hard to get good photos of them.

I hate seeing that gate in the background of my indoor photos, so I had Michael take some outside, too. It's downright balmy here in Minnesota -- 35 degrees! -- so no outerwear necessary.


I made a mistake where I always seem to make mistakes - right at the bust - so I'm taking more advice from my knitting group and I'm living with the error for now.


If it still bugs me after a few wearings, I'll do some surgery and fix it.

Pattern: Bristow, Knitty, Winter 2005
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk (Alpaca, Merino, Silk)
Needles: US 6/4.0mm for the seed stitch borders and cuffs, US 7/4.5mm for the rest of it.

Ask a Cat

Michael was hanging over my shoulder tonight with the digital camera, shooting video of me working various types of right and left twists for my upcoming Ask a Knitter column on Ravelry (should be posted Monday or Tuesday).

I got some unsolicited help.



Or maybe unsolicited criticism, not sure which.

Slipping onto the Bandwagon with Felted Feet

A month or so ago, I kept seeing a thread in the Ravelry Patterns forum entitled "French Press Felted Slippers" which I interpreted (without reading the thread) to mean that someone was using a French coffee press as a device for felting slippers. You'd think I would have read the thread, just to confirm such an oddity, but I did not.

A while later, the Yarn Harlot posted about discovering a pattern she was all over called French Press Felted Slippers, which it turns out are felted slippers designed by a woman who designs under the moniker French Press. They were supposedly a super-fast knit (90 minutes!), making them ideal for Christmas gift knitting.

It also turns out that the slippers were very cute, so I bought the pattern via Ravelry (as did hundreds of other people), and cast on with Patons Classic Wool in red. Either I was paying too much attention to the streaming video on my laptop, or I'm simply not a turbo-fast knitter, because the knitting took me about twice as long as the 90-minute claim. Of course, I was also practicing a new method of Continental purl, so that may have had something to do with it. (A new method I am now insanely happy about, but which I will save for another post. Or maybe an Ask a Knitter column. We'll see how it goes.)

At any rate, I knit the pieces, and then (as is often the case) had no fortitude to sew them together, so they sat for a week or two, little rolled up tubes of stockinette, on the floor of my office.

A few days before we left for Sedona, I decided I needed to finish up those slippers so I could wear them around the hotel room. I sewed, I felted, I let them air dry for a couple of days, and then I packed them in my suitcase, along with the decorative buttons, planning to sew the tabs on when we got to Arizona.

Here they are, felted, but unfinished.


When I pulled the slippers out of my suitcase, I realized I had forgotten to bring any yarn or thread with me with which to sew on the buttons. Lucky, lucky me, the hotel was fancy enough to have pre-threaded needles in a sewing kit, right there in the bathroom. There was just enough red to sew on the tabs at the wide end. I used the brown to sew on the buttons through both layers of fabric.



I wore them the entire time I was in the hotel room, then packed them in my carry on luggage for the flight home so that I could wear them, rather than my UGG boots, on the 3-hour flight.

I love these little slippers. My winter footwear consists mostly of UGG slippers and UGG boots. My UGG slippers are bulky and keep my feet warm, but I like to fold up my legs while I sit, which is somewhat problematic with slippers as sturdy as the UGGs.

These little babies are nice and soft and pliable, like wearing an extra-thick, but stylish, wool footie.