This past weekend I attended a knitting retreat in the
mountains of North Carolina. Two and a half days with about 40 other knitters,
good food, and the cool little town of Blowing Rock. I gave a talk on Saturday
night about my book, Knitting Plus, took some classes, and enjoyed hours
sitting outside and knitting with some really funny people. I also participated
in a speed knitting contest but did not win! The winner knitted 5 rows (of 50
stitches) in 4 minutes. Though I’m fast, we concluded that my throwing just
could not compete with the winner’s picking, when it comes to speed. Oh well.
I took two classes with Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark, who is
also a frequent Knitscene designer. I learned about embroidering on knits and
how to do two-color brioche in the round. Check out my swatches.
I’m super excited about the embroidery. It was easy once
I really understood the stitches—I’ve never been confident in my interpretation
of written embroidery instructions; seeing someone demonstrate it in real life
is such a help. I really liked working chain stitch embroidery--the quick movement makes such a neat little stitch, and you can angle the stitches any which way over knitted fabric. Perfecting curved lines will take some practice, but it's such a neat option for making rounded shapes, which is nearly impossible to do in knitting itself, with its gridlike structure.
Chain Stitch Embroidery on Knitted Fabric
Bring threaded needle out from back to front at center of a knitted stitch.
Form a short loop and insert needle back where it came out.
Keeping the loop under the needle, bring needle back out in center of next stitch to the right.
Mercedes brought along the Bonita Shirt to show the class, a project from
Interweave Knits Summer 2006. This is such a cute top and the backstitch
embroidery makes it pop, gives the crisp white fabric such a summery, folky
feel. An oldie but goodie that I’d love to find time to knit this year—we’ll
see how soon I wrap up Fireside.
Maryland Sheep and Wool is coming up this weekend. Who’s
going? Knitscene assistant editor and blogger Amy will be there, so hopefully
she’ll have a report for us next week. Since the spring semester is over down here, I’m
looking forward to a relaxing weekend with my partner— a doctoral student
coming off a particularly brutal year. And it’s Mother Day on Sunday, don’t
forget!
We go to press on Fall Knitscene June 1, so I better get
back to it. Enjoy some spring weather while it lasts—here in the south it will
be summer any minute.