Knitting Daily

Interweave Knits Corrections - Fall 2005

Knits — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:23:00 GMT

Fall 2005

Sources for Supplies (page 158)

The yarn samples for Norwegian Spirits Frittidsgarn and Patons Bohemian Chenille are labeled wrongly; the names should be swapped.

Weekend Getaway Satchel (page 56)

The buckles shown are made by the Oregon Leather Company, Portland , OR; 800-534-8033 or 503-228-4105. The buckles are product #132, 1" nickel halter buckles, available through tack shops and saddleries. They can also be ordered by phone.

Interweave Knits Corrections - Winter 2005

Knits — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:20:00 GMT

Winter 2005

Ballet Wrap Cardigan (page 16)

The schematic for the Ballet Wrap Cardigan was incorrect. This schematic shows the true shape of the fronts.

Ballet Wrap Schematic (197 KB)

Aran Pullover (page 68)

The chart for this pattern had no errors as printed on page 68 of the Winter 2005 issue, but some readers found the shading difficult to read. Here is a larger version of the chart in which the shaded symbols are more distinct.

Aran Pullover Chart (68 KB)

Lovely lace: Oh, the places it can go!

Kathleen Cubley — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

What do you think of when you think about knitted lace? A shawl, perhaps? A scarf? Socks? Gloves? Sweaters?


Lacy Waves Top by Norah Gaughan, from Lace Style.

Yes, the possibilities are endless. And lace knitting is so addicting that you'll want to explore all of your options. For me, knitting lace evokes generational knitting because I feel like I'm knitting in the tradition of the hundreds of knitters who came before me.

Interweave Knits editor Eunny Jang says, "I've seen lots of metaphors for knitting lace—a butterfly emerging from a cocoon; a flower blooming—but to my mind, there is enough romance in the simple reality of lace knitting: exectute a few easy, repetitive maneuvers with two sticks, and a length of string transforms into delicate, airy fabric traced with pleasingly intricate patterning."


	*The Peek-A-Boo Cloche by Mona Schmidt, from Lace Style. This hat is so cool*—it's a two-parter: A solid underlayer and the lace topper. You can really play with color in this one. I knit the underlayer in gray and the lace top in white. It was stunning, and I still admire it when the friend it I gave it to wears it.

Upon looking through the classic book Lace Style by Anne Budd and Pam Allen, I came across the Lacy Waves Top by Norah Gaughan. Even though I've looked at this book many, many times and even knitted something from it (the Peek-a-Boo Cloche by Mona Schmidt), but somehow I missed this super gorgeous top. I can't believe it, especially since Norah is one of my top five favorite designers.

I have to admit that I've never knitted a lace sweater. I've started two of them and frogged both. I didn't like how the shaping worked on one of them and the yarn I choose for the other ended up not being the best fit.

With just the sleeves and that cool wave motif on the front being lacy, this sweater is a good mix of lace and my favorite stockinette. I'm undecided on whether the lace sleeves will look good on me, though. I might just do short stockinette sleeves. We'll see. (I want this to be a summer top, so I'll knit short sleeves regardless.)

Anyway, I must add this top to my queue. Since I'm knitting from my stash, I should probably look through all of my sweater-quantity yarn to see if I have something appropriate in the DK weight that this sweater calls for. The original yarn, Berocco Softwist, is discontinued. Alas, I loved that yarn. But I'm sure I have something. Hold on . . .

Found it! I have a bunch of balls of Rowan Tapestry. It's in the blue/white variegated colorway, which should go well with the wave theme. The decorative panel on the front of the sweater is bold enough to stand up to the variegated yarn, too. I think it'll be a beauty. Now I just need to squeeze it into my knitting schedule. Time is the knitter's enemy, at least for this knitter! Why does it just whiz past?

Join me in a lace journey, won't you? Even if it's just adding a lace pattern to your queue; that's something, right?

And if you don't have a copy of Lace Style, get one STAT! It's fantastic, and it's now available as an eBook.

Cheers,

Knit Gloves for the Ones You Love

kateg0762 — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:57:00 GMT

As a retired trial attorney, I am always curious about what people think and do during their time on a jury. So when I came across the Juris Mitts in the 2011 issue of Interweave Knits Accessories, I knew that I simply had to knit them.

First, the designer came up with the idea while serving on a jury.

Second, and more important as far as knitting is concerned, I had been on the lookout for a while for a fingerless gloves knitting pattern for myself and my sister Cynthia, who also lives in Colorado. These flip-top mitts were perfect!


Cynthia loves her Juris Mitts

I showed the magazine photo of the mitts to Cynthia at Thanksgiving, and she was equally enthusiastic about them. I went to a local yarn store the next day, avoiding the Black Friday crowds at the mall in favor of spending time wandering around the walls and bins of yarn. Since it was one of the elements that drew me to the pattern in the first place, I decided to stick with the Tahki Yarns Donegal Tweed yarn used in the mitts modeled in the magazine. The yarn weight used for the Juris Mitts is substantial enough to hold their shape without being too bulky in the fingers.

The directions called for two skeins, so I bought two skeins of red for Cynthia's mitts and two skeins of blue for mine. I decided to knit the medium size after measuring my hand as a reference. I made the right-hand mitt in red in just a couple of weeks of evening knitting. It was an excellent easy knitting project of one-by-one ribbing and stockinette, great for knitting in front of the TV or when I didn't have much time. When I got to the fingers, I knit an extra two rows after the pinkie for the rest of the hand before knitting the other three fingers. Then once all of that was done I tried the mitt on and realized that it was too big for my hand and would be too big for Cynthia's as well.

But the mitt was perfect in construction, and I couldn't make myself ravel it. Instead, when I knit the left-hand mitt, I made it in size small. For it, I shortened the fingers so that they ended just below the bottom knuckles. The longer fingers in the pattern limited my finger dexterity and shortening them restored it. I got the medium and small mitt out of one skein of yarn. At Christmas, I had Cynthia try them both on, and as I suspected, she much preferred the small one. I knitted diligently over the next few days and was able to deliver a complete pair-in size small-to her before the New Year rang in. She loves them, and they are now her favorite pair of hand coverings. She likes the flip-tops for handling car keys or grasping coins and can flip the tops on and off very easily.


	One small red mitt and one medium red mitt.

I was left with a single, lonely medium-size mitt. Since I had gotten a medium and small mitt out of the first skein, I knew I had enough yarn left in the second skein to finish the second pair of mitts. With all four mitts done, I have enough yarn from the second skein remaining for a flip-top for another mitt, but not the rest of a mitt. I think the medium pair took more than one skein, but the small pair took a little less than one skein.

The medium-size pair of knit mittens has been mailed off to a friend of mine who lives in northern New Jersey and is a real estate agent. He spends a considerable amount of time driving clients around and fishing keys out of little boxes. He also does a lot of yard work, even in the colder months. The flip-tops will preserve his dexterity for doing all his activities and keep his fingers warm when he is finished.

It is good that I love this pattern so well, because I will end up making four pairs of Juris Mitts! Get a copy of Interweave Knits Accessories and knit something that will warm the hands and hearts of your loved ones.

Now on to the blue yarn!

Kate

A New Knit-Along: The Lapis Yoke Pullover!

Kathleen Cubley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:15:00 GMT


The new knit-along is the Lapis Yoke Pullover. It's available in the Knitting Daily Shop or in the Fall 2010 issue of Knitscene.

Remember when you voted for a pullover and I said I'd knit the winning design? Well the winner was the Lapis Yoke and I'm just about ready to start. Want to knit this cute knitted pullover along with me?

Here are the details of the pattern:

Lapis Yoke Pullover by Hannah Fettig

(Easy)

Sizes: 34-3⁄4 (39, 44-1⁄4, 48)" bust; shown in size 34-3⁄4"
Yarn: The Fibre Company Organik (70% organic merino, 15% alpaca, 15% silk; 98 yd [89 m]/50 g): seawater, 10 (12, 14, 16) skeins. Yarn distributed by Kelbourne Woolens
Gauge: 17 sts and 25 rows = 4" in St st on larger needles

Tools
• Size 7 (4.5 mm): 24" circular (cir) needle
• Size 7 (4.5 mm): set of double-pointed needles (dpn)
• Size 8 (5 mm): 16" and 24" or longer cir needles, depending on size
• Size 8 (5 mm): set of dpn
• Markers (m)
• Yarn needle
• Stitch holders

Schedule
2/6-2/13: Find or buy pattern, choose yarn, and get gauge
2/14-3/6: Knit yoke
3/7-3/28: Knit body
3/29-4/19: Knit sleeves and complete finishing and blocking

I'm using Cascade Cash Vero for my sweater. It's a 55% merino, 33% microfiber, 12% cashmere blend and it's super soft. I'm knitting this sweater in a slightly larger gauge than the pattern calls for because I want it to be a little roomier. I've got 16 inches per inch on size 9 needles and I like the fabric—it's not too loose. I'm also going to 3/4 sleeves because I just like them better than long sleeves. I'll post a photo of my swatch as soon as I can take a photo of it.

Here's the link to the forum, so come and join me!

Cheers,

Share your love with a prayer shawl

Kathleen Cubley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Statistics say that there may be almost 300,000 new cases of breast cancer in 2012 (American Cancer Society). Shocking, isn't it? When I read this statistic my heart sank—it's 2012, how can this be?


Comfort Shawl by Sandi Wiseheart. This shaped shawl is an easy knit that stays on the shoulders. It's a free pattern, too!

My circle of friends is peppered with woman who have survived breast cancer, and I'm sure yours is too. I also have dear friends in the midst of their fights, and I feel so helpless. What can I do to support them? A meal here and there is certainly helpful and appreciated, and visits are wonderful, too, but since I'm a knitter, I want to knit something for these precious treasures to help them get through their fight. And the options are plentiful; I've knit hats and socks for my friends and for lots of cancer charities. It's such a win-win—I love knitting and the people suffering are so in need of these small items.

Since chemo patients seem to get so cold during treatment, prayer shawls are the perfect remedy. These shawls have many meanings for many people. Some people do use them while praying, some pray while knitting the shawls, and we all think positive thoughts and put love into each an every stitch.

There are free patterns for knitted prayer shawls, crocheted prayer shawls, woven prayer shawls, and sewn prayer shawls, so whatever your craft you can give the gift of support to your dear ones in need.

And, of course, there are many reasons other than cancer to share a prayer shawl! I knit one for my 91-year-old gramma and she wears it all the time. It's bright pink, her favorite color, so she feels cheery when she wears it and she spreads cheer to all who see her walking around her retirement home.

Knitting gifts is so rewarding, and as knitters we can give the gift of our time and support all wrapped up in a knitted garment. I've gotten so much pleasure out of giving these sorts of gifts, and I know you have too.

Share your prayer shawl story, pattern, favorite charity, and so on in the comments. I know there's a lot of inspiration out there that will lift us all up a little bit.

And if you've never knitted a prayer shawl, look up "prayer shawl" on Google and be bowled over by the resources that pop up!

Cheers,

Ann Budd's Handy Apps for Yarnies

annbudd — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Editors' note: We always love it when our good friend, PieceWork contributor, and knitter par excellence, Ann Budd, stops by the PieceWork office for a visit. We never know what she might pull out of her bag—a new yarn she's discovered, a pair of funky new socks she's just finished knitting, or more recently, a skein of yarn she spun herself. We invited Ann to tell you about one of the newest items she pulled out of her bag and is really pleased about.

I keep forgetting to slip The Knitter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements in my bag when I travel, so I don't know how much yarn to purchase when I visit yarn shops, and I visit a lot of yarn shops. Because I do remember to pack my iPhone, I've often thought, "Wouldn't it be great to have all that information handy at the tap of a finger?"

Enter Knit Handy and Crochet Handy apps. Created by Interweave's books and digital media teams, these knitting and crochet apps are available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. iPad users can download the apps and view them in small format or enlarged (2x) size. Interweave has plans to release Droid versions this month.

The apps were adapted from my leaflets The Knitter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements and The Crocheter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements to help knitters and crocheters quickly determine how much yarn they need for various projects.

The Knit Handy app delivers the yardage requirements for eight of the most popular knitted items: sweaters, vests, mittens, gloves, socks, scarves, tams, and hats. The Crochet Handy app provides yardage requirements for basic caps, scarves, bags, afghans, ponchos, baby sweaters, skirts, and tops.

Both apps show all sizes ranging from baby or toddler to large adult, using five standard yarn weights from fingering to bulky. The apps can show measurement units in imperial (inches and yards) or in metric (centimeters and meters).

And it's so simple: Select the measurement units in imperial (inches and yards) or in metric (centimeters and meters); select a project type, then choose gauge (ranging from 3 to 9 stitches per inch) and size; and the yarn amount is calculated. Talk about handy!

Happy Calculating,

Ann

P.S. If you have a great story or any items displaying a needlework technique or tradition originating from another country, we’d love to know about them. Our November/December 2012 issue is all about needlework traditions from other lands that have wended their way to the United States. Personal stories, long-treasured family items, or small communities that preserve the traditions of their homeland will make wonderful articles and projects for this issue. Contact us to learn how to submit your ideas.

Interweave Knits Corrections - Spring 2005

Knits — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:22:00 GMT

Spring 2005

Cable-Eight Top (page 66)

The cable pattern printed in the Stitch Guide is incorrect. The correct pattern is as follows:

4/2 Cable: (worked over 6 sts) Sl 4 sts onto cn and hold in front, k2, return 2 purl sts from end of cn back to left needle, p2 returned sts, k2 from cn.

Bi-Color Brioche Sweater (page 78)

In the finishing passage before “With CC and using the crochet method . . .” in the very last paragraph, it should say:

“Pull out provisional cast-on of body pieces and sleeves; the brioche will not unravel.”

Have a heart (and a free pattern!)

Kathleen Cubley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Heart shaped items are a weakness of mine, and we're headed toward Valentine's Day, so hearts are everywhere. These little felted hearts from the book Gifted by Mags Kandis are so perfect for gift giving, and if you're knitting for children, they make a perfect decoration for a little girl's nursery.


*Felted Heart Milagros from Gifted, by Mags Kandis*

Here's the pattern!

Felted Heart Milagros

These little hearts bring me such joy that I can't stop myself from making and sharing them! Knitted in one piece with a bit of short-rowing for shape, there is just one quick seam and a little stuffing before you shout, "Everyone in the pool!" Well, the "pool" may be the washing machine or a basin, but I do promise it will be fun. These hearts can be used for anything you can imagine-pins, bookmarks, place markers, welcome garlands, good-luck charms, etc.

Finished Size: About 2 inches (5 cm) high and 2 inches (5 sm) wide
Yarn: Sportweight (#2 Fine). Shown here: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sportweight (100% wool, 184 yd/[168 m] 50 g). Each heart uses less than 10 yards (9.1 m).
Needles: Size U.S. 6, straight or circular
Notions: Tapestry needle, small amount of polyester or bamboo fiberfill
Gauge: About 21 stitches and 30 rows = 40 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch, before felting. Exact gauge is not crucial for this project.

HEART
Loosely cast on 12 sts. Work short-rows as follows:

Short-row 1: (RS) K8, wrap next st, turn.
Short-rows 2, 4, and 6: Purl to last st, p1f&b-1 st increased.
Short-row 3: (RS) K7, wrap next st, turn-13 stitches.
Short-row 5: (RS) K6, wrap next st, turn-14 stitches.
Short-row 7: (RS) K5, wrap next st, turn-15 stitches.
Short-rows 8 and 10: Purl.
Short-row 9: K4, wrap next st, turn.
Short-row 11: K3, wrap next st, turn.
Short-rows 12, 14, and 16: Purl to last 2 sts, p2tog.
Short-row 13: K5, working wraps together with wrapped sts when you come to them, wrap next st, turn-14 sts rem.
Short-row 15: K6, working wraps together with wrapped sts when you come to them, wrap next st, turn-13 sts rem.
Short-row 17: Knit to end, working wraps together with wrapped sts when you come to them-12 sts.
Short-row 18: Purl.

Repeat short-rows 1-18 three more times—piece measures about 9½ (24 cm) from, cast-on at widest point. Loosely bind off all stitches.

Finishing
With yarn threaded on a tapestry needle, sew the CO and BO edges together. Stitch top of heart closed, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) open for stuffing. Stuff with fiberfill until lightly firm but not bursting. Stitch closed. Felt and enjoy!

—From Gifted, by Mags Kandis

I hope you'll make some of these little cuties and give them to someone close to your heart. And if you're looking for more patterns for Valentine's day, check out our InspiRED patterns in the Knitting Daily Shop! We're teaming up with Jimmy Beans Wool for their Stitch Red initiative, sticking it to heart disease. With each red pattern sold on InterweaveStore.com, we'll donate 5% of the profits to The Heart Truth®, a National Awareness Campaign for Women About Heart Disease.

Cheers,

Design Contest

Kathleen Cubley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:01:00 GMT

A note from Kathleen: Our friends at Juniper Moon Farm are having a design contest, and we want a Knitting Daily reader to win! See below for all of the details and then get knitting!

Does beautiful yarn speak to you? Does it shout "Knit me!" or "Crochet me!" Does the yarn tell you what it wants to be and inspire you to design something unique and all your own?

Well, this is your chance to gain recognition (and maybe win some yarn!) for your original design using either Chadwick or Willa from Juniper Moon Farm!

We want to see what Chadwick and Willa inspire you to create and the top 8 designs (4 for Chadwick and 4 for Willa) will win the following fabulous prizes:

First place wins $300 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarns
Second place wins $200 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarns
Third place wins $100 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarns
Fourth place wins $50 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarns

Guidelines
Design a new, original pattern using either one or two balls of either Chadwick or Willa. The design can be for anything—accessories, garments, children's garments, home accessories—whatever you dream up, but you can only use one or two balls of Willa or Chadwick.

Enter your project in the Ravelry database so people can find it (this will come into play later).

Securely attach a tag to your project with your name, contact information (address, email, etc.), and the name of the pattern as it appears in the Ravelry database.

Mail the completed project and written pattern postmarked on or before March 1, 2012 (new deadline!) to:

Juniper Moon Farm
Design Contest
1036 Venable Rd
Palmyra, VA 22963

(Don't worry, we'll mail it back after the contest ends.)

Anyone can enter. You can enter designs for one or both yarns. It should be a new design created specifically for Chadwick or Willa. We reserve the right to disqualify submissions that don't meet the guidelines.

Voting
Entries must be postmarked on or before March 1, 2012 (new deadline!). We will select our four favorite designs for each yarn. During the week of March 5, we'll post our top 8 (4 Willa and 4 Chadwick) on the Juniper Moon Farm blogand open up voting. The public will vote to decide which designs are first, second, third, or fourth place. (We'll be reminding people to vote, but you'll probably want to encourage your friends and family as well.)

The designs (either Chadwick or Willa) with the most votes will be 1st place and win $300 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarn, 2nd place in voting will win $200 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarn, 3rd place in voting wins $100 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarns, 4th place in voting wins $50 worth of Juniper Moon Farm yarns.

Remember, each yarn will have 4 winners, so that's 8 winners total! Winners will be announced on the Juniper Moon Farm blog and our Facebook Page at the end of March.

Pattern Glory
The winning four patterns for each yarn will become the property of Knitting Fever Inc. This means you get recognized as the designer, but you can't sell the pattern. We might send the pattern to local yarn stores to use as a free pattern. We might even include the winning patterns in a future book!

The Yarns

Chadwick is a 60% Merino Wool, 40% Baby Alpaca blend. It comes in 202 yard (100 g) balls. Lots of yardage for you to create with and 12 colors from which to choose. The suggested gauge is 4.5 stitches/inch on a US 8, but you can use whatever size works best for your design.

Willa is a 60% Merino Wool, 40% SuperKid Mohair blend that comes in 153 yard (100 g) balls. Let your imagination run wild with the 12 colors available. The suggested gauge is 3 stitches/inch on a US 11, but you should use the size that moves you.

You can read more about both yarns on the Juniper Moon Farm blog.

Cast On or Get Hooking
What are you waiting for?! There is a lot of prize yarn up for grabs.

Find a local yarn store near you that stocks Chadwick and Willa and get your designer hat on. We can't wait to see what Chadwick and Willa tell you they want to be. If you're looking for inspiration, we've added three free patterns using these yarns to get you started.

Your project and pattern, with your name securely attached, has to be postmarked on or before March 1.

Learn something new: Bohus Knitting (plus a free pattern!)

Kathleen Cubley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT


Anne Berk models one of her fabulous Bohus pullovers. It's so beautiful; I was honored to take a class from her.

I'm working on a Bohus sweater and I'm almost to the colorwork yoke. I'm so excited because I've been knitting row after row of stockinette in the round. I'm also a little nervous because I've never knitted a Bohus design, although I did take a fabulous class on the method from Anne Berk at Interweave Knitting Lab (photo at left). So I've had just a teeny tiny bit of experience, I guess.

I know I can do it, though. Especially since my sweater uses a simplified version of the technique, where only two colors are used in each row.

Two of my favorite designers, Courtney Kelly and Kate Gagnon Osborne have a new DVD Workshop called Knitting Seamless Colorwork and they feature Bohus Knitting as one of their techniques.

Here's some information from Kate and Courtney about this timeless color knitting method.

Color-stranded knitwear designs produced by the Swedish Bohus Stickening Cooperation were famous in the late 1930s to the 1960s for their attention to detail, innovative design and color, and exacting standards of craftsmanship. Traditionally worked in a fine-weight blend of angora and merino that created a gorgeous halo, the color-stranded patterns were punctuated with purl stitches and sometimes a third—or fourth or fifth—color per row.

The painterly knit-and-purl colorwork of the Bohus tradition inspired the Freyja Pullover. Five colors shift and blend from stitch to stitch in a soft, haloed yarn blended from camel, alpaca, silk, and cashmere. A zigzag pattern builds into shaping in the circular yoke.


Courtney Kelley's Freyja Cardigan. Want to knit it yourself? You can start right now because it's a free pattern!

Bohus Knitting Tips
Bohus knitting is deceptively simple—there are just a few things to keep in mind for optimum results.

—After purling a stitch, be sure to move the yarn to the back of the work before knitting the next stitch.

—When working with more than two colors per row, it is imperative to assign "placement" of the yarns as they are carried across the back of the work. Instead of just one yarn carried "over" and another carried "under," you will also have a yarn carried in the middle. Be sure to maintain consistent placement of these yarns throughout the row.

—When choosing your own color combinations, consider how yarns interact with one another in the colorwork pattern as well as how the purl stitch will affect the color it "pops up" from the row below.

—Kate Gagnon Osborne and Courtney Kelley

Isn't that colorwork beautiful? It makes me want to stop writing this and start knitting on my sweater. But I can't leave you in the lurch, can I?

Here's a preview of Kate and Courtney's workshop:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Pre-order your copy of Knitting Seamless Colorwork today (or download it if you can't wait!) and get inspired like I did! I'll keep you posted on my progress and post some photos soon. It's just a bunch of brown stockinette at this point, but soon it'll be bursting with color knitting!

Cheers,

Interweave Knits Corrections - Summer 2005

Knits — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:24:00 GMT

Summer 2005

Viennese Shrug (page 40)
The yarn was incorrectly identified as Morehouse Farms Merino 2-Strand. The yarn used was actually Morehouse Farms Merino 2-Ply. The 2-Ply is a sport weight yarn. The introduction, which refers to working with worsted weight yarn, is incorrect.

Padded Footlets (page 44)
Heel flap, after working the 29 rows of Heel Flap Chart: Join a second strand of MC. Next row: (WS) With 2 strands held tog, sl 1 kwise, p28. Next row: Sl 1 kwise, k27, p1. Rep the last 2 rows 2 more times, then work WS row once more.

Here is an expanded description for working the gusset section. On page 47, after the sentence that ends, "... to end with Rnd 1 of Instep chart," insert the following note:

Note When working Rnd 2 on subsequent reps you will beg with the working yarn at the start of 27 sole sts, instead of between Sts 5 and 6. On these later reps of Rnd 2, beg the rnd as foll: With single strand, p1, *sl 1 pwise wyb, k1; rep from * to last 2 sts of sole needle, sl 1 pwise wyb, p1, drop current working yarn, turn work. Cont Rnd 2 from this point as originally given on page 46.

Polka Dot Bag (page 52)
Base: CO 45 sts with MC. Do not join into a rnd. Work garter st in rows (knit every row) for 16 rows--8 garter st ridges.

Fiery Bolero (page 66)
Expanded Instructions

Better Than Baby Booties: Ruffle Rib Socks (page 100)
(full pattern--updated version which includes these corrections)
Toe, zigzag bind-off instructions: Place 22 instep sts on 1 dpn and 22 sole sts on another dpn. Holding the 2 needles tog, sl 1 from front needle, p1 from back needle, pass slipped st over purled st, *k1 from front needle, pass purl st over, p1 from back needle, pass knit st over; rep from * until 1 st rem on needle, working last st tog with its accompanying yo.

Deborah Robson Talks Washing Wool, Win Unicorn Fibre Wash

Knitting Daily TV — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:27:00 GMT

Guest star Deborah Robson visited the set of Knitting Daily TV for Series 800 and brought her expertise to the screen. Filming three segments, Deborah talked caring for fiber, avoiding yarn pilling, and dove into yak fibers. You can see all of Deb's videos on KnittingDailyTV.com. Here's one from episode 804:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Washing and caring for your fiber can make all the difference in the lifetime of your work. To celebrate our 100th episode, Unicorn Fibre has agreed to give one lucky winner a set of washing, rinsing, and scouring products to prolong the life of your knitwear. Simply comment on this blog for your chance to win, details below.

Here's Deborah to talk more about washing fiber:

Washing wool
I love washing wool, whether it's fleece I'm going to spin, a newly finished garment whose beauty will be revealed after its first bath-and-blocking, or a loyal garment that has earned refreshment.

Freshly shorn wool may be the most fun to wash, because of its dramatic transformation. The grease that coats the fibers when the sheep is using the fleece to keep herself warm through the winter is still soft, resilient, and relatively easy to remove. I think of the animal, freshly released from this seasonally necessary burden to enjoy the spring air (and to begin growing next winter's blanket), and I think of the fabrics I will make from her hand-me-downs to keep other beings cosy in the future.

Even long-stored fleece can be rewarding to put through the washing process, which releases it from a stiff accompaniment of old grease and dust. Although it's best to wash wool soon after shearing, in part because moths especially savor the "extras" that are removed when the fiber is cleaned, as long as you can keep pests away you can safely store wool for many years.

Here's Emma's fleece when she was done with it, on its first trip into the warm water that begins my washing process:


START OF CYCLE wool has ONLY been soaked in warm water tray on right has been removed, after the first of two water soaks, from the center tray the dark brown is water-soluble dirt and suint		END OF CYCLE after use of cleansing aid tray on right has been removed, after its cleansing soaks, from the center tray tray on left awaits draining

It's easy to imagine that she'd want to start over with fresh growth!

Emma is a Leicester Longwool sheep, a breed known for its long, shiny, strong fiber. The beauty of the wool becomes apparent after about two hours of soaking in a series of baths, beginning and ending with plain-water versions, and with two or three in the middle that are infused with a washing agent.

I've described the details of my washing process elsewhere. Today I want to talk briefly about the transition from dirty to clean, mostly for fleece but also for garments.

This image shows the raw, dirty wool on left and
clean wool on right (same fleece)

Washing or scouring?
Washing is what I just talked about. The process of cleaning raw wool is also sometimes called scouring, a term used in industry to include the removal of all contaminants from wool-scouring is "washing plus."

What might the contaminants in wool be? I say might because not every fleece will have all of these, and each fleece will have contaminants in differing types and proportions.

The big three, present to some extent in every fleece, are:

wool wax or wool grease
suint
dirt

Wool wax or grease is not water-soluble. It provides a protective coating, and, in general, the finer the wool the more grease it contains. It's the hardest of the three main contaminants to remove. That's the point for the sheep! It shouldn't be easy to remove!

Suint (think "sweat") is water-soluble-even in cold water. When we're washing wool, it's the easiest contaminant to get rid of.

Dirt is soil, and can be dust or mud. It can be sandy, or full of clay, or may correspond to any of the gardener's or farmer's other options, and it can be easy or hard to remove, although most of it isn't too bad. (Clay, of course, is most difficult, as it seems to be for growing plants where I live.)

Vegetable matter (or VM) is another contaminant that comes in many varieties. For hand processing, VM isn't, for the most part, removed during the washing sequence and its evaluation and management is a topic for another day. In industrial processing, treatment to remove VM occurs during the scouring sequence and involves a delicate sequence of chemical and mechanical maneuvers to get the plant material out without damaging the wool-a different topic for another day.

Some other contaminants-like dung tags, urine stains, marker dye, and insects-should have been removed before the fleece ever reached the washing or scouring stage.

What to use as a washing aid?
For the intermediate steps of cleaning wool, whether raw or spun or made into fabric, we have many choices in washing aids. I've used a number of them over the years. At this point, I have several criteria for the agent that I use. Oddly, they all start with E!

I want it to be effective, efficient to use, economical, and as environmentally benign as possible.

That means that I look for a washing assistant that

is concentrated so I don't need to use large quantities
creates minimal suds (which are hard to rinse out, wasting both time and water)
does not subject the wool to significant and potentially damaging pH shifts
works at moderate heat levels even for fine wools (in order to reduce the potential of fiber damage, and so I don't have to be boiling water or otherwise wasting energy)
cleans by bonding with the waxy or greasy particles, drawing them off the fiber and into the water so they can be rinsed away, instead of being knocked off through agitation (which can result in unintended felt, as well as more work for me)
does not involve enzymes (which continue to be chemically active even after they've been discarded) and
contains no ingredients classified as toxic.

knitted swatch of Leicester Longwool, commercially
spun yarn from the same flock that Emma is part of

I now use washing agents that are specially formulated for use with wool. I like Unicorn Power Scour for cleaning raw wool; Unicorn Fibre Wash for my yarns and finished products; and Unicorn Fibre Rinse as a final treatment in either case.

Dishwashing detergents and shampoos create annoying amounts of suds. I'd rather avoid the perfumes and colorants that many cosmetic products contain. Laundry detergents often contain brighteners, enzymes, and other ingredients I consider extraneous at best and damaging at worst. Some components of laundry detergents are actually designed to break down proteins (to get out stains like blood or egg), and animal-source natural fibers are also proteins! It is interesting to check these products' Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) or, for some items, the information in the Household Products Database maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/ , "Inside the Home" and "Personal Care" categories).

I wash all my natural animal fibers at between 50 and 60°C (120 and 140°F), preferably on the lower end. Wool wax, the stickiest contaminant to remove, melts at 35-40°C (95-104°F) and damage to protein fibers can occur at higher temperatures. The length of time that fiber is exposed to high temperatures, and the pH of the environment, matter a great deal. Dyeing fibers involves balancing these factors in exchange for a rainbow.

________________

A practical footnote and a random fact

Footnote
Here's a quick note about washing fine wools in their raw form: When wool wax is dissolved, its chemical composition changes. If the temperature of the bath cools, the grease can be redeposited on the fiber as a scum that can be substantially more difficult to remove than it was in its original form.

Random fact
Lanolin is produced from a portion of the wool grease recovered from scouring liquid.
________________

Deborah Robson is the author, with livestock expert Carol Ekarius, of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More than 200 Fibers from Animal to Spun Yarn. She has also worked with Interweave Press to produce the instructional DVD set Handspinning Rare Wools. She teaches internationally. Her website is at www.drobson.info, and her blog, The Independent Stitch, is at independentstitch.typepad.com.
________________

Simpson, W. S., and G. H. Crawshaw. Wool: Science and Technology. Woodhead Publishing Limited Series on Fibres. Boca Raton, FL, and Cambridge, England: CRC Press Woodhead, 2002.

von Bergen, Werner. Wool Handbook: A Text and Reference Book for the Entire Wool Industry. 3d enl. ed. ed. New York: Interscience Publishers, 1963.
_________________________

- For more on Leicester Longwool sheep, see "On the Edge: How a Handful of People Have Preserved Some Rare, Valuable Sheep and Their Wools," PieceWork, November/December 2011

Win Your Own Unicorn Fibre Products to Clean and Maintain Your Fibers!

Unicorn Fibre, a proud sponsor of Knitting Daily TV Series 800, is helping to celebrate the show's 100th episode season with a great giveaway. Simply comment on this blog post and you're automatically entered to win a set of Fibre Wash, Fibre Rinse, and Power Scour from Unicorn Fibre. You can read more about these great products, loved and used by fiber expert Deborah Robson. Tell us what fiber you're planning to clean, what knitted sweater you're trying to maintain, or share with us a horror story of a washing malfunction that ruined your fiber or sweater. We'll randomly choose a winner from all the comments at noon Central Time on Monday, February 13th, so comment before then. Read the official giveaway rules for more details.

This blog is proudly sponsored by Unicorn Fibre. Visit their website today for more fibre care information and trusted products.

How to Organize an Unruly Stash

Kathleen Cubley — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

A note from Kathleen: Interweave Crochet's project editor Sarah Read recently blogged about a subject near and dear to us fiber fiends, especially those of us who enjoy knitting and crochet, and when I read about Sarah's stash adventure, I knew you'd love to read about her journey, too.

Taming the Stash

When faced with a feral stash, you may have heard that the safest course is to curl up in a ball, cover your neck, and play dead. But I believe that even the wildest of stashes can be tamed. And yes, that's my own stash up there, back when it was very wild indeed (a few weeks ago).

The first step in taming your stash is to get ALL of it and spread it out where you can see it. (From experience, I can tell you that this is best done while small children and the yarn-prejudiced are not at home.) As you lay it out, divide it by sections, like so:

It's a little hard to see my category names in this photo. Clockwise from left, they are: Acrylic Island, Sock Valley, Accessories Alley, Cotton Cove, Mountains of Thread, Sea of Sweaters, and Bay of Lace. A little humor never hurt any of us, right?

Have your empty bins handy, and load the yarn into the bins according to category. Create categories that make the most sense to you. For example, my categories are:
1. Sweater yarn (sweater quantities of worsted yarn)
2. Tee yarn (yarn for short-sleeved garments)
3. Sweaters made of itty bitty yarn (sport and fingering weight in sweater quantities)
4. Lace
5. Cottons and linens
6. Thread
7. Sock yarn
8. Super fancy-pants sock yarn
9. Acrylic and baby yarn
10. Single skeins (not of the cotton, lace, thread, sock, or acrylic variety)

The next step is to build a fort out of your bins.

Then, when you have conquered the world from the safety of your yarn fort, file the bins away in their storage space.


My hanging holder of projects

If you know the next few (or many) projects you intend to start, keep them filed in a separate, easy-to-access system. My friend Sheri from The Loopy Ewe blogged about her fabulous baskets, and one of her readers suggested using a hanging shoe holder as a great space saver, which seemed like the perfect solution for me, as my attic studio has no level walls.

It's great for holding a small- to medium-sized project worth of yarn, as well as the pattern for the yarn, so five years from now, when you finally get to that project, you remember what it was going to be.

Congratulations! You are now a stash-tamer. You are probably also much more aware of the scope of your stash. I was actually comforted by the process, especially when I ended up with two extra empty bins that were certainly not empty the last time I did this. That means two things to me:

1. I have two empty bins to fill, and

2. If I can work through two bins a year, I'm not as close to Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy as I thought I was.

So . . . now it's your turn to flash your stash! Come to the forums and share your stash, feral or tame!

Cheers,

Sarah

Designers speak out on Knitscene Spring 2012

AmyPalmer — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:31:00 GMT

The week after a new issue's release are always filled with excitement. We're excited to hear what our readers have to say, and we're excited to hear our designers talk more about their designs for the issue. I've been combing the internet lately to see if our designers for the Knitscene Spring 2012 have been talking about their projects, and thought I'd share what I'd found with you today.

First up, our featured designer Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark talks about her experience as a featured designer and gives some insight to the muse for her Seberg Sweater.

Kate and Courtney from Kelbourne Woolens talk about their gorgeously striped East Falls Hat, Roxborough Dolman, Gray's Ferry Cowl, and Manayunk Cardigan.

From our Six Mandolin Lane story, Danielle Chalson talks about her Averill Vest, discussing the shaping and the awesome Madelinetosh yarn she used; Debbie O'Neill talks about the construction of her Brindle Pullover; Carina Spencer shares alternate styling options for her Nixie Shawl; Catherine Shields gabs about her Bungalow Hat.

Allyson Dykhuizen provides insight into the process behind her Tulip Slouch, and discusses the joys of duplicate stitch—who would have thought that an idea for a pullover would wind up a beautiful hat pattern?And finally, Carol Feller shows off her Florence Cardigan and talks about using a new-to-her yarn.

Pick up your own copy of Knitscene Spring 2012 in either a print or digital edition from the Interweave store, and check back here, as I'll update this post with other designer blog posts when they're available!

Happy Knitting,

Amy

Socks Rule

Anne Merrow — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Editors' Note: We invited Anne Merrow, editor of Yarn and Specialty Fiber eMags, to tell us what's new in the world of eMags.

When it comes to historical textiles, socks usually get short shrift. Lace-edged tablecloths, gowns, uniforms, dolls, and other special occasion pieces are saved and put away, but socks are worn and used until they’re worn out and used up.


Albanian double socks, such as the pair shown here, paired a highly embellished outer sock with a simple inner sock. Photo by Dominic Cotignola, courtesy of Bankfield Museum.

It takes a special collector to visit a foreign country and come back with something as pedestrian as socks as souvenirs. Edith Durham was such a collector. On her travels through Albania and other Balkan countries in the early twentieth century, Durham collected all kinds of traditional clothing. Among the many garments and textiles she brought back to England and donated to the Bankfield Museum in Halifax, Yorkshire, are a treasure trove of beautifully embellished socks and slippers. Sock knitter, teacher, and designer Donna Druchunas visited the museum and was enthralled by the footwear on display.


	Donna Druchunas's Kilmeni Socks, inspired by the "inner socks" found in the Edith Durham Collection. Photo by Harper Point Photography.

In the areas Durham visited, the shoes were thin leather (Durham referred to them as sandals), so two pairs of socks were needed to keep out the chill. Providing an extra layer of warmth inside shoes, the outer socks served as slippers when shoes were removed indoors. Embellished with crochet, embroidery, and stranded knitting, the outer socks were a riot of color. The plainer inner socks had longer cuffs and unadorned feet. “The foot of the inner sock is worked in plain stockinette,” writes Donna, “with decorative ribbing or lace on the cuff.”


Worked in a sport-weight wool yarn, these over-the-knee stockings by Deborah Newton are intricate yet rustic, and are sure to keep you warm. Photo by Harper Point Photography.

In the Spring 2012 issue of Sockupied, Donna writes about her visit to the museum and shares photographs of some of its most exquisite socks. She also reimagines a pair of inner socks from the collection with a twist for contemporary knitters. Like the Albanian socks that inspired them, the Kilmeni Socks are worked from the toe up with an unusual swirl toe and an afterthought heel. Donna omitted the traditional Bosnian crochet technique to close the heel, and she extended the lace pattern down the instep.

This issue of Sockupied has plenty of modern classics, too, with techniques for spectacular socks. Deborah Newton imagined the kind of stockings a bride might wear on a chilly morning and designed lacy Frost Feather Stockings. Debbie O’Neill thought of a children’s game and designed the pool-busting Leapfrog Socks. With six designs and seven techniques, this issue of Sockupied will keep your fingers flying on your own sock journey and your feet warm.

Best,

Picking a yarn for knit gloves

Kathleen Cubley — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT


These finely knit gloves look back to the 1940s and 50s when no elegant winter outfit was complete without coordinating accessories. The openwork rose lace motif worked on the back of the hand, and the flared contrast-edged cuff, give them a pretty and unique touch.

Handknit gloves are such a treat. And since you see your hands all the time, you get to admire your knit gloves! I have to admit that I do gaze lovingly at my hands when I wear handknit gloves. I sometimes do the same to my handknit sock-shod feet, but that's not as socially acceptable.

The gloves shown at left are the Openwork Gloves from Rowan designer Jennie Atkinson's new book A Handknit Romance. The vintage look is so attractive and feminine.

If I were to knit these gloves, I would first look to my stash to see which lace-weight yarn I have on hand. I like the yarn that the project calls for, but I know I don't have it in my stash, and I actually prefer a smoother yarn for gloves. The yarn in the pattern is an 80 percent baby suri alpaca/20 percent extra fine merino blend, which is yummy for sure, but a little fuzzy. I happen to have a 70 percent merino/30 percent silk blend that I would like to use instead, which brings me to the next topic, how to substitute yarns.

Here's some great information from Jennie Atkinson:

Choosing Yarn Substitutes

When planning a garment design, the type of yarn chosen makes all the difference to the way the garment looks. I often knit swatches in a variety of stitches to see what works best for that yarn. For a garment that needs to have some "give" or elasticity so that it fits well I would choose a springy pure wool. Whereas for a loose garment where drape is the most important factor, a yarn that has no elasticity but hangs well, like a bamboo yarn, is ideal.

There are so many different yarn types available now that it is impossible to generalize, but as a rough guide, wool, wool mixes, and sunthetic wool substitutes are the yarns that have most elasticity, and these are great for knitting plain and textured stitches and for fitted garments. Yarns that have no stretch are good for draped garments or knitting lace stitches.

When substituting yarns, always knit a swatch first in the chosen yarn, not only to check that it has the same gauge but also to check that the "feel" of the yarn is suitable for the design.

Gauge and Yarn Quantities

When substituting yarn it is best to find a replacement with exactly the same gauge/needle size as the suggested yarn, but you can usually change the needle size up or down by one or two sizes to give the right gauge without affecting the way the knitting handles. Be aware that even slight variations in the gauge will affect the final size.

You will also need to calculate how many balls of the substitute yarn are required based on the yardage per ball. Multiply the yardage of the yarn suggested in the pattern by the number of balls needed for your size. Then divide the result by the yardage given for a ball of your substitute yarn.

—from A Handknit Romance by Jennie Atkinson

If you're planning to knit your way through your stash this year like I am, this information should help you on your way.

Cheers,

Win Prizes with our 100th Episode Celebration!

Knitting Daily TV — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:34:00 GMT

Welcome back to another great season of Knitting Daily TV! Series 800 is now airing on select Public Television stations and we couldn't be more excited. This series marks our 100th episode! With this milestone, we want to celebrate fiber television with you. We've put together some great prizes for viewers and readers of this blog with the help of Knitting Daily TV's Series 800 sponsors, and we'll be giving away these prizes throughout the season. Here's how it works. . .

We'll announce each prize via the Tuned In To Knitting Daily TV blog, and ask you to comment on each blog for your chance to win that week's prize. Prizes will include yarn, DVDs, fiber wash, and much more. Sometimes we'll offer more than one prize per week, so your chance of winning increases. Click here to learn more about our 100th episode giveaway, and to read the official rules.

This week's prize: Knitting Daily TV Series 800 on DVD!
You could win a 4-DVD set of Knitting Daily TV Series 800, which includes all 13 episodes and 2 bonus, never-aired tutorials with host Eunny Jang! Simply comment on this blog and you're automatically entered to win. Tell us what you like about Knitting Daily TV, what your favorite episode of the show is, something you've learned from watching, or how we could improve the show. We'll randomly choose three lucky winners on February 6, 2012, at noon Central time, so be sure to comment before then. Winners will be notified via email, and we'll ship your prize out to you that week. Click here to learn more about this DVD, valued at $39.99.

We're celebrating our 100th episode!
Join us for Knitting Daily TV Series 800, and Make Time for Yarn Every Day!

Knitting Daily TV Series 800

4-DVD Set, 13 Episodes
Features 2 Bonus Segments
Run Time: 348 Minutes

Join host and editor of Interweave Knits Eunny Jang and experts Kristin Omdahl and Shay Pendray on another great season of Knitting Daily TV!

On Knitting Daily TV Series 800 you'll armchair travel with Portuguese, Armenian, Estonian, and Latvian fiber techniques. You'll challenge yourself with textural stitches, colorwork, and short-row knitting. Plus, on this upcoming season of Knitting Daily TV, you'll dive into crochet edgings and trims and learn the basics for crocheting with fine yarns and threads.

Each episode of Knitting Daily TV includes:

Getting Started: A segment hosted by Eunny Jang that offers an in-depth look at knitting techniques such as pleating, I-cord basics, bias cabling, and more.
How-to: Dive into the fiber world with great guest stars! The How-to segment explores the world of fiber and design with great pattern demonstrations and more knit and crochet techniques.
Crochet Corner: Crochet expert Kristin Omdahl gives step-by-step instructions for crocheters, from novice to experienced. Learn reversible edgings, faux motifs, and great project ideas inspired by vintage crochet.
Quick Tip: Eunny concludes each episode with a quick idea or demonstration for fiber artists. You'll tackle duplicate stitches, mitered knitting, fringe, ruffles, and more.

With Knitting Daily TV Series 800, you'll learn how to care for and clean your handknits, how to measure correctly for a perfect fit, and even how to avoid yarn pilling.

Featured Knitting Daily TV Series 800 guests include Laura Bryant, Connie Chang Chinchio, Kate Gagnon Osborn, Beth Gantz, Courtney Kelley, Barry Klein, Deborah Robson, and Andrea Wong.

BONUS! Knitting Daily TV Series 800 on DVD includes 2 never-aired bonus segments with host Eunny Jang. Learn in-depth techniques for Armenian knitting and the Latvian braid.

Knitting Daily TV Series 800 DVD
Episode Guide:

801 Needle Art Trends: Learn what's hot in the yarn and needlework market.
802 Top It Off! Learn great finishing techniques, especially for head-turning hats.
803 Color Challenge: Practice your colorwork skills.
804 Take Care: Learn how to care for your handknits and heirlooms.
805 EntreKnits: Learn sculptural knitting techniques, such as entrelac.
806 Help Wanted: Combat common knitting mistakes.
807 Texture It Is: Textural stitches add depth and dimension to knits.
808 A Touch of Whimsy: Play with knitted fringe and ruffles.
809 Carry-All: Celebrate knitted bags, satchels, and clutch purses.
810 Yakkety Yak: Learn about unique fibers, such as yak.
811 Go Global: Armchair travel and learn Portuguese style knitting
812 Get Shorty: Knit short rows upon short rows.
813 Quite Effective: Learn to make even your simple stitches stand out.

Plus, Series 800 on DVD includes 2 bonus, in-depth knitting tutorials:
BONUS: Armenian Knitting with Eunny Jang
BONUS: Latvian Braid with Eunny Jang

Celebrate our 100th episode, and make time for yarn every day!
Purhase your own copy of this upcoming season, available on a 4-DVD Set!

Comment on this blog for your chance to win!
We want to hear from you! Comment on this blog post and tell us what you like about Knitting Daily TV, which episode you're most excited to view, or even how we could improve the show. We'll randomly choose three lucky winners from all the comments and send the winners a 4-DVD set of the new Knitting Daily TV Series 800. Be sure to comment before noon Central Time on February 6th to be entered to win.

ABOUT THE SHOW: Knitting Daily TV is an exciting needle crafts how-to program on public television covering everything from knitting and crochet to stitching, felting, and spinning. The show guides viewers in learning to make fun yet smart one-of-a-kind designs using the latest products in yarn and fiber. Download free patterns, meet trendsetting knit and crochet designers, and improve or learn new skills and techniques.

Click here to find the PBS station nearest you airing the program. (You can enter your zip code or click "view all schedules/get listings" to see all the cities that air the show and when.)

Knitting Daily TV is airing on PBS stations nationwide and new markets are being added to the schedule all the time. Each individual public television station chooses when and if to air the program. If it is not airing in your local market, please call, write, or email and let them that know you are a viewer of the station and would like to see Knitting Daily TV. You can help bring Knitting Daily TV to your local PBS Station. Thank you!

The winter galleries are here!

Kathleen Cubley — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT

We've got a new crop of galleries for you, fresh from the pages of the Winter 2011 Interweave Knits—Customizing Pullover and Cardigan Knitting Patterns from Interweave Knits: A Winter Knitting Gallery Presented by Knitting Daily. Five knitters took up their needles and made one of two beautiful patterns, the Livingstone Cardigan and the Leif Slipover.

The Livingstone Cardigan (left) by and the Leif Slipover (right) from Interweave Knits Winter 2011

Amy Miller's Livingstone Cardigan's lush cable panels and dramatic ribbing give it lavish texture and a sleek fit. A generous shawl collar and chunky toggles stand guard against winter winds. The yarn, Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed, is bouncy and baby soft; all the gallery knitters loved knitting with it on this cardigan knitting pattern.

A flattering hourglass shape and deeply etched cable textures keep the bulky, lofty Leif Slipover flattering and visually rich. Adrienne Larsen's shaped hood grows up and out of the body's sinuous cables. This knit pullover is a unique piece and our knitters were challenged and pleased with the results. They enjoyed working with Cascade Yarn's Lana Grande, too.

Check out Customizing Pullover and Cardigan Knitting Patterns from Interweave Knits: A Winter Knitting Gallery Presented by Knitting Daily and get inspired to make one of these warm, wonderful, winter knits!

Cheers,

Belated Resolutions

arwilliams — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:00 GMT

The beginning of this new year has flown by, and I've neglected to make my knitting resolutions. Here are my top 3.

Organize my stash. A daunting goal! But one that I know will benefit my knitting for the rest of the year. My yarn stash has expanded considerably since I started work with Interweave. Carefully arranged skeins have exploded out of their Tupperware and now run rampant all over my apartment, making it mighty hard to stash-dive for a project. Ultimately, I'll have everything catalogued by yarn weight, with a few luxury skeins on display.

Challenge myself with colorwork. I'm a texture gal at heart. I swoon for cables, I go mad for lace, can work twisted ribbing on tiny needles for days. I'm not sure why I avoid stranded knitting. Maybe it's all those dangling ends, or the fear that my love for bright color will result in knits more clownish than sophisticated. This year, I'll make at least one Fair Isle project. There are a few tempting options in Vintage Modern Knits.

More warm-weather knitting! We've had a few unseasonably warm days lately, and they've turned my mind to spring knitting. I actually love summer knits, and am looking forward to experimenting with new fibers. No more pining for sweater season-- tricky socks, lacy tees, and silky camisoles will be filling my knitting bag this spring. First on my list is the Millefiori Cardigan.


	The sweetly retro Millefiori Cardigan, Interweave Knits Spring 2009.

Happy knitting!

Blog Tour: The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos

Kathleen Cubley — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:05:00 GMT

We're kicking off a fun new blog tour today to celebrate the international launch of Heidi Adnum's book, The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos, which is now available in North America from Interweave, in the UK from Search Press, and in Australia from Murdoch Books.

Throughout the tour you'll learn the keys to taking great photos of your work, hear from some of the successful designer-photographers featured in the book, see some before-and-after photos from bloggers who have read the book and used Heidi's advice, and hear a lot from Heidi herself!

Oh yes, and there will be prize drawings at some of the stops! Follow along, and enjoy the tour!

1/25
Mark Lipinski's Creative Mojo Podcast
live interview with Heidi at 3:50 pm EST

1/26
Rena Tom

1/27
CraftBuds

1/28
SweatShopofLove co-creator of @HandmadeRyanGosling

1/30
Artist Success with Lesley Riley

2/1
Jenny N Design — featured designer in the book

2/2
Rifle Paper Co. — featured designer in the book

2/3
See How We Sew

2/4
Imagination Kids Toys — featured designer in the book

2/6
Canadian Living Crafts' Blog

UK Blog Tour

2/7
Feeling Stitchy

2/8
UK Handmade

Australian Blog Tour

2/9
WhipUp.net

More tba . . . stay tuned!

5 Great Things About Sock Knitting

Kathleen Cubley — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT


Lorilee Beltman's Our Paths Cross Socks

There's a new Sockupied and I think it's the best one yet. My favorite sock knitting pattern from this issue is Lorilee Beltman's Our Paths Cross Socks (pictured at left). Lorilee has a wonderful vertical stranding technique that's easy to master really effective for all kinds of colorwork. I took a class from Lorilee at Sock Summit and we used this technique to make plaid socks.

There's a bunch more fun in Sockupied, too; here's editor Anne Merrow to tell you all about it!

My first pair of handknitted socks ended in tears when my Dad felted them—but somehow I caught sock knitting fever anyway. What makes me love them so?

Let me count the ways...

5 Great Things about Knitting Socks

1. You can make socks fit perfectly.


	The Leapfrog Socks pattern turns handpaints and solids alike into a playfully patterned pair.


	*Cat Bordhi keeps finding new ways to knit socks. Learn about her latest invention, the Sweet Tomato Heel, in the new issue of Sockupied.*

Let's face it—feet are weird. They have some strange lumps and bumps that are necessary to accomplish everything we ask them to do, which can make for some odd fit issues. When you knit socks, you can adapt them to your own foot. In this issue, Kate Atherley explains how she developed a "Naïve Gusset" to customize a short-row heel.

2. You can use your brightest, most colorful handpainted yarn—or stick with subtle solids.
There are colorful yarns that would stop traffic if you used them in a sweater. If you're not eager for a pile-up, then socks are the perfect place to use them. Debbie O'Neill's Leapfrog Socks are this issue's One Sock, Two Ways pattern—they're lovely in yarns from demure to dazzling.

3. There is always something new to try.
Cat Bordhi, one of the most imaginative knitters we know, thought she'd already found the best way to knit socks . . . until she developed the Sweet Tomato Heel. Cat demonstrates her new technique, tells about her sock adventures, and offers a brand-new pattern in this issue.


What better way to feel delightfully indulged than to knit and wear Deborah Newton's sumptuous stockings?

4. They're the ultimate way to pamper yourself.
There's nothing like pulling on a perfect pair of socks in chilly weather to make me feel like I'm taking great care of myself. This issue, Deborah Newton's over-the-knee Frost Feather Stockings are a cozy indulgence to knit and wear when you need a little tender loving care.

5. Socks are fun.
Don't take my word for it. Listen to the three talented poets who took socks as their muse and created witty limericks that will have you in stitches.

A radical cosmetic innovation
Is sweeping the sock knitting nation.
It seems the only cure known
For Second Sock Syndrome
Is Second Foot Amputation
.
—Victoria Hewerdine Thornton

Plus . . . 3 Great Things about Sockupied

1. The Spring 2012 Sockupied is our largest ever. With six original patterns plus plenty of techniques, interviews, and more, this issue includes more of what you love about sock knitting.

2. It's available for the iPad. You can take Sockupied with you on the go when you buy the iPad version—or download the PC or Mac version for your desktop or laptop. It's available at our lowest price ever.

3. We heard you! Each issue of Sockupied—even the latest—is now available for only $4.99.

Go check out Sockupied, and start the new year on the right foot.

Cheers,

Paying It Forward

Karen Brock — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:00:00 GMT


Needlecraft Magazine, February 1925

Recently, PieceWork’s editor, Jeane Hutchins, and I have been spending a bit of time sifting through PieceWork's archival collection in the dim reaches of Interweave’s basement. We pull on our archivist's white cloth gloves and pore over the pages of Needlecraft, Peterson’s, and Modern Priscilla from the teens, 1920s, and 1930s.

Despite the little bits of dust that drift up from the pages, we have a great time reading through these vintage publications—all of them, the articles, the project instructions, even the advertisements. Sometimes we discover poignant stories of World War I families supporting each other; other times it’s a surprising project, such as instructions for tie-dyeing a dress (this from a 1920s magazine!); and then some of the designs have such a contemporary edge that I want to knit them for my trendiest friend confident that she’d love them all and never guess that the designs came from 1919 or 1922.

It's useful, as needleworkers, to have this peek into the windows of our crafts’ past, and it’s a treat for my twenty-first-century sensibilities, especially when I look at those advertisements for slimming hose, treatments for gray hair, or facial cream to remove freckles and age spots (“freckles banished or your money back”). It isn’t the pattern designs only that resonate with today!


Sarasota Sweater, Needlecraft Magazine, December 1923.

Perhaps one of the most important characteristics of these magazines is the array of techniques involved; each issue includes instructions for everything from embroidery, crochet, knitting, lacemaking, or something terribly distinct such as a recipe for making your own knitting needles—they’re just like PieceWork. Maybe that’s why Jeane and I enjoy these old magazines so much. Often our colleagues at Interweave delight at the range and uniqueness of projects in our magazine and they say, “Amazing! Only in PieceWork!” And that’s true in today’s world, but we are only carrying on a tradition that was begun long before us, this blend of story and diverse range of projects.

We're so passionate about PieceWork because it honors our past in the present, preserves it, and carries it forward. And how much more can you carry forward the traditions of the past than by turning these dear old pages into e-books, and that’s just what we’ve done. Part of PieceWork’s archival collection includes the first thirty volumes of Weldon’s Practical Needlework from the 1880s. We have reproduced the content of several volumes, exactly as it appeared in the original publications, into downloadable eBooks, featuring knitting, crocheting, and bead embroidery. The whimsy and utility of our needlecraft traditions is now available in one of the most efficient formats.

Happy Crafting,

P.S. And why, you might wonder, are Karen and Jeane rummaging through those old magazines? Well, you’ll just have to keep an eye out in the pages of PieceWork and Knitting Traditions to find out!

Tiny Sweaters: A great beginning!

Kathleen Cubley — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT


How cute is this?

When I started knitting, lots of my friends were having babies and I knit a lot of baby sweaters. Tiny sweaters out of lots of different yarns using lots of different patterns.

It was so much fun knitting for babies and learning new skills while creating these darling little garments.


	The Kai Cable Sweater. I want this whole package, including the darling little guy!

I really pushed myself on a few of the projects, using advanced techniques on a small scale. I knit cabled sweaters, a striped vest, a Fair Isle dress, and an intarsia sweater. Those were the most challenging, but I knit lots and lots of simpler projects, which is what I'd like to talk about today.

One pattern that I made several times is the Kai Cable Sweater from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louise Harding. This book is full of darling patterns, but the Kai sweater is one of my favorites.

It's deceptively easy, with its cable up the front and open sides. In fact, if you're new to cabling, the Kai is the perfect first project.


The cable appears to grow organically out of the ribbing.

One of the reasons the cable looks so nice is because it grows out of the ribbing, which is a design detail I love.

The cable is a classic eight-stitch braid cable where four stitches cross over four stitches You can see in the photo at left that the cable crosses begin with crossing a set of K2/P2 rib over another set of stitches so the the cable looks like it grows out of the K2/P2 rib.

To make this look especially nice, there are some increases in the first row after the ribbing is finished, right in the area where the cable will be, that preserves the two purl stitches right before the cable cross. These two stitches, as well as the two purl stitches on the other side continue all the way up the front of the sweater.

As in many cabled sweaters, the stockinette stitch cable is set off with purl stitches to make it really stand out.


	I wanted to show the Kai in a different color, so LicketyKnit (a.k.a. Rachel) on Ravelry let me use her photo. I love the red, and the model!

Louisa's collar design is striking, too, with the cable continuing all the way up the funnel neck. It's so cute!

The edges of the bottom ribbing are open at the sides to give a baby's tummy area more room to move around. The neck opening is plenty big enough to accommodate those baby noggins that are always a little larger that you think—there's a split at the back of the collar that provides that extra head room.

One final detail is the three-needle bind off at the shoulders, which is done with wrong-sides together so that the seam shows. Very fashion-forward! And isn't that what we all want for our little ones (wink, wink). But I really do like this knitterly detail.

Check out Natural Knits for Babies and Moms and add the Kai Cable Sweater to your repertoire!

Cheers,

Project Diary: The Spoked Cardigan

Kathleen Cubley — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT


Kathy O'Neill models her Spoked Cardigan from the 2011 issue of Interweave Knits Weekend.

My knitting group went to a function at our local yarn shop and my friend Kathy showed up in the most beautiful cardigan sweater. I recognized it but I couldn't put my finger on where I'd seen it. I asked Kathy about it and she laughed and said it was the cover sweater from Interweave Knits Weekend 2011. No wonder it looked familiar!

The design is the Spoked Cardigan by Carol Feller, and it's one of the cutest cardigan knitting patterns ever. And it's a pretty easy knit, too!

I invited Kathy here to tell us about knitting her version. Here she is!

The Spoked Cardigan from Interweave Knits Weekend 2011

At first I pretty much ignored this pattern as the colors were about as far from "my" colors as they could get! I also thought "this is for a 20-something girl and I'm a 50-something, but still a girl at heart." And it was overshadowed by a couple of the other sweaters in Weekend that I loved.

But the Spoked Cardigan somehow got stuck in the back of my mind. I love the Noro "Kureyon" worsted-weight yarn and the wonderful color schemes they come up with. Somehow I got to the Noro section on a recent trip to the yarn shop and I ended up going though every color combination they had in the right quantity for the Spoked Cardigan. I found a lovely red-blue-fuchsia-gray combo that was just perfect.

I got the right gauge with a size 9 needle instead of the 8 that was called for in the pattern. I'm really an up-"tight" knitter so I do need a larger needle at times.

I really just went straight by the pattern, which ended up true to size (I made the 38" bust size). The model in the magazine must be several inches taller than I am because the sweater looked a bit short on her for my taste. I didn't end up lengthening it at all, though-I'm trying to get out of my rut of making and wearing only long sweaters. Turned out on me it's a comfortable length, but not way below the belly.

I did leave out all of the tabs. I thought the sleeve tabs might look better if they faced towards the outside of the arm instead of the inside, which that would have been any easy modification to make, but I decided to leave them off. I didn't need any additional bumps on my hips so left out the hip tabs, too.

I did have to get a bit of advice from my knitting pals to fully understand the chart. I've mostly worked with charts that show only the odd rows, or only the even rows, but not both, so this chart took some getting used to. It really went fast when I got going, though, especially after I had the short-row process perfected. I actually finished it faster than any other sweater I've knit. The lack of finishing work it required was a bonus-yippie--I do dread the finishing work!

I thought the yarn might be a bit scratchy at first, but it's a lovely garment to wear and the sweater is really nice and soft, especially post blocking. I've gotten lots of compliments on it and I'm even thinking of making it again in Noro Silk Garden using a subtle color palette.

Happy knitting,

Kathy

P.S. Want to knit the Spoked Cardigan? The 2011 issue of Interweave Knits Weekend is on sale now!