Tuned In to Knitting Daily TV

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:

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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.

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!

Knitting Off the Axis, Mathew Gnagy Visits the KDTV Set and Demos the Bethany Cardigan

Knitting Daily TV — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:30:00 GMT

Knitting Daily TV welcomes many well-known faces of the industry to the set each season, and even some up-and-coming designers. Mathew Gnagy, author of the new book Knitting Off the Axis (Interweave, 2011), has been designing patterns years and has recently broken into the knitwear world with his unique knitwear construction knowledge and design. Building his knitwear designs from his patterning past, he puts together one-of-a-kind sweaters using the concept of paper patterning where pieces of each garment are laid out in creative ways and joined together to showcase great shaping and fit. His stitches are anything but straight.

Watch Mathew's segment on Knitting Daily TV Episode 710 where he joins Eunny to talk about his designs:

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Mathew's work is structural in design, and the Bethany Cardigan shown in this episode is a perfect example of how his complicated shaping can be broken down into easy short-row shaping in areas of each knitted pieces of a garment. Try your hand at the Bethany Cardigan, a free download on KnittingDailyTV.com. This nautical-inspired cardi incorporates not only incredible shaping, but textural stitches and design details that make it a show stopper.

For more information on the yarn shown in Mathew's demonstration, visit WEBs, America's Yarn Store. The Valley Yarns Superwash DK weight yarn comes in many classic colors, such as the light blue seen in Mathew's segment and a dark, rich navy color see on the model at left. The timeless nature of this sweater means its the perfect pattern for any age, and can be designed in a classic hue or a fun, bright color for a more trendy look. Either way, the design elements will take center stage!

This blog has been sponsored by WEBs, America's Yarn Store. Visit their website at www.yarn.com for yarn and supplies for your next project.

Want more episodes of Knitting Daily TV? Click here to purchase DVDs and individual episodes of Knitting Daily TV.

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.)

The New Knitter's Template Book Giveaway

Knitting Daily TV — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:48:00 GMT

Fan favorites Laura Bryant and Barry Klein have been appearing on Knitting Daily TV since the very first season. Their tips and techniques for knitting with fun yarns have been eaten up by knitters of all skill levels nationwide. Along with their color sense and knitting know-how, they dove into measurements this past season on Series 700. Here's Kathleen Cubley's October 7th Knitting Daily blog post about Laura and Barry's 703 "Fit" segment:

Measuring yourself is never super fun (unless you've recently lost weight!), but knowing your measurements is essential to knitting sweaters that fit.

My knitting group got together a couple of years ago and had a measuring party—we buddied up and took each others' measurements and wrote them all down. We need to do that again since it's been awhile. Here's hoping my measurements have stayed the same or even gotten a tiny bit smaller!

After seeing episode 703 of Knitting Daily TV, I'm armed with lots of great information and tips to make the measurements more exact. Designers and authors Laura Bryant and Barry Klein join host Shay Pendray to share their tricks for taking accurate measurements, along with lots of info about that mysterious element: ease.

Laura measures and tries on several sweaters and demonstrates how positive ease (a garment that measures a little larger than a person's measurements) and negative ease (a garment that measures a little smaller than a person's measurements) affect how the garment looks.

It might be counter-intuitive, but the garment with negative ease is much more flattering. I love this visual evidence-so many of us make our sweaters too big! Once when my knitting group was trying on sweaters for one of the the Interweave Knits galleries, almost everyone thought a certain sweater wasn't going to fit them. When it did I could see the light bulbs go on—"I think I've been making my sweaters too big" was the quote of the evening.

Laura and Barry have made a handy chart available for download, too. It's from their book The New Knitter's Template, and it provides blank spaces for every measurement you'll ever need. Here's the clip from episode 703:

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Did you know you can download individual episodes of Knitting Daily TV? Download episode 703 and organize a measuring party with your knitting group! You'll have a ball watching the episode and then measuring each other.

The New Knitter's Template Book Giveaway!!

Now that we've heard so much about Laura and Barry's book, we thought it'd be fun to give away a couple signed copies to our Knitting Daily TV fans. Simply comment on this blog post about a fit issue you've run into, solved, or need help with. Tell us a funny story about your first sweater that wouldn't have fit any human, or about the last sweater you made that fits perfectly.

Comment by noon Mountain Time on November 15th, and you're automatically entered for The New Knitter's Template signed book giveaway. Knitting Daily will randomly choose two lucky winners from all the comments and contact them for shipping information.

This blog has been sponsored by Prism Arts, Inc. and Trendsetter Yarns. Visit these websites for more information on Laura and Barry and the yarns and designs showcased on their segments of Knitting Daily TV.

Click here to purchase DVDs and individual episodes of Knitting Daily TV.

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.)

Laura Bryant and Barry Klein, Free Patterns and Videos from Their Appearances on Series 700

Knitting Daily TV — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:51:00 GMT

Fan favorites Laura Bryant and Barry Klein once again make appearances on Series 700 of Knitting Daily TV. From learning how to measure yourself correctly for a perfect fit to ruffled fashion-forward designs, Laura and Barry bring an informative look to knitting that's both fun and functional.

Watch their three How-To segments on this season of Knitting Daily TV for their one-of-a-kind tips, techniques, and free patterns.

From episode 703, learn how to measure yourself and others correct so your knitwear has a perfect fit:
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Explore the knitwear trend of ruffled knitting, from episode 707:
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Let the yarn do the work for you, and you'll have easy-to-knit ruffled fabric! Download the Pandora and Flamenco Flounce Scarf from this episode, made with Trendsetter Yarns.

Take your ruffles further with short-row ruffles and flounces, from episode 708:
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Download the Ruffled Scarves pattern you see on this episode, made with Prism Arts, Inc. yarn.

Laura and Barry's how-to tips and techniques have been celebrated by knitters of all skill levels. Their approach to color and knitwear's fit and function make wearable projects, while the fun and fashion-forward yarn they showcase add personality and pizzazz to any wardrobe.

Look for Laura and Barry in the upcoming season of Knitting Daily TV, too. Series 800 airs in January 2012.

Click here to purchase DVDs and individual episodes of Knitting Daily TV.

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.)

Earn Crafty Cred with Knitted Closures, Quick Tip from Eunny Jang

Knitting Daily TV — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:42:00 GMT

On this week's Tuned In To Knitting Daily TV's blog, we look at Eunny Jang's quick tip for adding crafty cred to your knitwear with knitted closures. Eunny begins with a basic demonstration of knitted I-cord, which can easily be made into frogs, toggles, and knots. It's a fun, easy way to finish your knitwear.

Watch Eunny's Knitted Closure Tutorial, from episode 711:
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The latest season of Knitting Daily TV includes 12 more quick tips from Eunny, including finishing tips such as buttonhole placement, whipstitch, blanket stitch, knitted fringe and loops, ideas for weaving in your yarn ends, and fun embellishments. Plus, Eunny also demonstrates easy ways to manage double, triple, even quadruple increases.

With all these Quick Tips, knitting has never been easier! Download tips like this and more with your free eBook of 40 Tips & Techniques for Knitters of All Skill Levels.

Sponsored by Interweave.

Catch more of Eunny's tricks of the trade on Series 700, now airing on Public Television stations nationwide. Or, get the entire Series 700 of Knitting Daily TV on a 4-Disc DVD Collection! Click here to purchase DVDs of this season or previous seasons of Knitting Daily TV.

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.)

Free Pattern! KT Baldassaro and the Mesmerize Jewel Binary Jacket Pattern

AnnieB — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:39:00 GMT

Feza Yarn's designer KT Baldassaro visits the set of Knitting Daily TV on the latest Series 700 to share more clever designs and cool yarn. First, she joins Shay Pendray to talk about great one skein projects and shares the pattern for the Alp Oriental Horizontal Cabled Scarf, a fun way to experiment with various novelty yarns. Then she guest stars with Eunny on episode 711 to talk clever designs.She demonstrates adding beads to the Nirvana Beaded Tank Top.

Watch KT's segments on Series 700:

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KT Baldassaro has more designs up her sleeve. She guest blogs today on Tuned In To Knitting Daily TV to share her experience designing the Mesmerize Jewel Binary Jacket. Here's KT:

When I was a kid, I rebelled against the concept of wearing handmade clothing. I was mortified by the idea that I would be wearing something completely unlike anything my peers had, that it would literally single me out as "different." Nowadays I see parents encouraging their children to be as different from the mainstream as they can be. Perhaps this is just one of those things you notice as an adult, but not as a child. I can, however, still vouch for musicals being completely uncool in the 90s. Given the popularity of Glee, I can only conclude that people are becoming more comfortable expressing themselves than ever before! This is a welcome trend for any designer, especially those of us using 'novelty' yarns.

When I began designing the Binary Jacket, I wanted to capture the concept of two parts coming together to create a new whole. Although the result does bear a striking resemblance to the computer screens in The Matrix, that's not exactly the "binary" I meant.

I thought back to an experience I was fortunate enough to have several years ago - an exciting weekend taking a Saori weaving class in Massachusetts. One of the concepts of this type of weaving that has always stuck with me comes from its name. "Sa" is a Zen Buddhist term meaning "everything has its own unique quality."

Each knitter has his/her own uniqueness to express, even when they are following another person's pattern. Keeping this in mind I sought out a design for knitters that would allow them to combine two yarns while embracing the wabi-sabi aesthetics of simplicity and asperity, and that's when it hit me. I kept asking myself: "what is the difference between two knitters who follow the same pattern?" - their hands.

When working these yarns held together, allow yourself to knit smoothly and freely; do not concentrate on feeding the yarns through your fingers without them twisting together. Allowing this to happen will alter which of the contrasting yarn strands will show more to the front, creating the striped effect shown in the garment. (I also experimented with a ball winder and wound the two yarns together into a master ball from which I knit.) In this way, each knitter creates an anomalous fall of the stripes through the uniqueness of her own hands, through which these two yarns come together to create a whole garment.

You can download KT's Mesmerize Jewel Binary Jacket today and create your own one-of-a-kind garment. Explore novelty yarns and classic shapes with this jacket, and of course turn heads!

For more information on KT's designs and the yarns she uses, please visit FezaYarns.com.

Watch KT and other great designers on the latest season of KDTV! Get the entire Series 700 of Knitting Daily TV on a 4-Disc DVD Collection! Click here to purchase DVDs of this season or previous seasons of Knitting Daily TV.

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.)

Celebrity Knitter and Crocheter Deborah Norville on KDTV, Two Free Patterns!

Knitting Daily TV — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:12:00 GMT

Series 700 of Knitting Daily TV has begun to air on Public Television stations nationwide, featuring celebrity knitter and crocheter Deborah Norville.

Deborah teams up with host Eunny Jang to talk about big and comforting knits and fun crocheted toys. Using her signature yarn line from Premier Yarns, Deborah demonstrates some fun patterns that even the novice crafter can tackle.

Watch Deborah Norville on episode 702:
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You don't have to be a skilled knitter to knit fun and stylish pieces for your wardrobe or your home. Big, chunky yarn seen on this segment are great quick-knits for on-the-go knitting, and great yarn to cozy up with. You can download the free pattern for the Big Button Wrap, worn by Deborah in this segment. It's customizable for your unique personality and the sizing is universal, fitting most body types.

Watch Deborah Norville on episode 705:
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You're never too old for fun toys, and the cute stuffies Deborah shows off in this segment are no exception. Download the free pattern for the Crocheted Spring Chickie, a cute addition to your amigurumi collection. Crocheted in different weight yarns, this fun pattern would make a great toy to cuddle up with or a small decoration.

For more information on Deborah Norville patterns and yarns, visit Premier Yarns website. They offer great free patterns, galleries of knitted and crocheted projects, and a variety of Deborah's signature yarns.

Get the entire Series 700 of Knitting Daily TV on a 4-Disc DVD Collection! Click here to purchase DVDs of this season or previous seasons of Knitting Daily TV.

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.)

Series 700 is Airing! Plus, Win a 4-DVD Set of the Latest Episodes

Knitting Daily TV — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:08:00 GMT

Tuned In To Knitting Daily TV's blog is back!

With the launch of the latest series 700 now airing on Public Television stations, we're starting up the Tuned In To Knitting Daily TV Blog once again to share some fun fiber stories, patterns, and talent from the newest episodes.

This season we're excited to have a line-up of well-known knit and crochet designers, more tips and techniques from host Eunny Jang, and we're introducing the 13-episode crochet-along with Marcy Smith for the Chain Reaction Afghan Project. Be sure to check out KnittingDailyTV.com for more information on each episode, as well as links to free patterns shown.

Watch a preview of Knitting Daily TV Series 700:

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With a lot of knitting and crochet how-to, this season is sure to increase your fiber knowledge. Here's a breakdown of this season's numbers:

13 in-depth technique segments: Host of Knitting Daily TV (and editor of Interweave Knits magazine) Eunny Jang begins each episode with a knitting tutorial. This season showcases knitting socks with the magic loop method, an overview of knitted felt, how to fix handknits that fit poorly, unique wrapped stitch techniques, bind-off methods, and lots more.



7 star designers: Invite novelty yarn specialist KT Baldassaro into your fiber studio to add beads to a summer tank. Fan-favorites Laura Bryant and Barry Klein touch on proper ways to measure for knitting and how to add knitted ruffles to your work. Other guests include the Helping Hands Foundation's Penny Sitler, celebrity knitter Deborah Norville, new author Mathew Gnagy, and more.



13 Chain Reaction Afghan Project crochet-alongs: For crocheters out there, each episode brings crochet expert Kristin Omdahl and editor of Interweave Crochet magazine Marcy Smith together to discuss and make the Chain Reaction Afghan Project. A collaborative afghan of 20 squares from well-known and up-and-coming designers, this afghan has a vast amount of crochet techniques from simple to quite complicated.



13 quick-tips from Eunny Jang: Each episode of Knitting Daily TV ends with a quick-tip from Eunny, all which are simple to master and ingenious for making your knitting nightmares disappear. Learn how to finish your projects with whipstitch, baseball stitch, mattress stitch, knit-on edgings, and even custom toggles. Also learn how to weave in your ends in intarsia knitting, keep track of your knitting using stitch markers, and more.



10 patterns: As always, with each series of Knitting Daily TV free pattern downloads are available on the website KnittingDailyTV.com (click here for them all) so you can knit and crochet along with the cast and crew. For the beginning knitters, there's a fun cabled scarf that incorporates novelty yarns. For the more advanced knitter, there's Mathew Gnagy's Bethany Cardigan, which you can download in September, that derives its shape from sideways knitting techniques. And for the crocheters, there's a beautiful crocheted shawl and a complete 20-square afghan.



23+ free, downloadable tips: Knitting Daily TV Series 700 also includes free tips and technique downloads on the website. Print out a schematic chart for proper measurements as well as 22 other tips from designers. Download the free tip eBook here.

2 bonus segments: The 4-DVD set of Knitting Daily TV 700 includes two bonus tutorials with host Eunny Jang. This season she discusses Fair Isle and short-row knitting. You can purchase the newest DVD set here.

We hope you'll tune into the show on your local Public Television station this month, and visit us online at KnittingDailyTV.com.

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.)

Thank you to our current Knitting Daily TV Sponsors:

Prism Arts, Inc., Tahki Stacy Charles Yarns, Trendsetter Yarns

WIN SERIES 700 OF KNITTING DAILY TV ON DVD!
We want to know what you think of Knitting Daily TV and the latest season. Please leave us a comment on this blog for your chance to win Knitting Daily TV Series 700 on 4-DVD set, including the two bonus knitting tutorials with Eunny. Do you like the Getting Started segments the best, increasing your knitting skills? Do you wish we'd elaborate on the Quick Tips segments on each episode? Have you begun your own version of the Chain Reaction Afghan? We'll choose two lucky winners at random from all the blog comments on Tuesday, August 9th, at noon Mountain Time. Be sure to comment before then for your chance to win!

Win the Next Season of KDTV on DVD, Behind-the-scenes of Series 700

Knitting Daily TV — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:05:00 GMT

Time flies! This July the newest series of Knitting Daily TV will be airing on Public Television stations nationwide. Here's a behind-the-scenes peek at our latest taping, from associate producer Annie Hartman Bakken.

Taping KDTV Series 700

After descending on Beachwood, Ohio, for a fast week of knitting and crochet in the production studio, we just concluded our seventh season of taping Knitting Daily TV!

In order to put together a star-studded, information-packed season, we depend heavily on sponsors, our content producer, guest stars, and even the UPS man to deliver the garments in time. We had some close calls and a few last minute changes, but we managed to put together what I think is the best season of Knitting Daily TV to date!

We have 13 jam-packed episodes of Getting Started and Quick-Tips segments for knitters, including techniques like knitting with the magic loop method, felting gauge tutorials, knitting fixes, an in-depth look at wrapped stitches, non-traditional ways of joining, short-row tips, a study of knitted steeks, and much more.

Crocheters will enjoy the crochet-along with Kristin and the editor of Interweave Crochet, Marcy Smith, putting together the Chain Reaction Afghan Project. Learn how to crochet 20 afghan squares, along with unique ways of joining them for a beautiful finish.

And we have guest stars galore: Laura Bryant, Barry Klein, KT Baldassaro, Penny Sitler, Mathew Gnagy, and Deborah Norville, just to name a few.

It's not all hard work, though! We always find time to have fun when we're together. There's a Filene's Basement close to the studio for shopping and there are great restaurants in the area for our bi-annual dinner together.

Wardrobe Control

Since we tape the show out of order, we have to somehow keep track of which sweater Eunny wears for each episode.

All the sweaters are hung and labeled with tags, but the easiest solution to double-checking that Eunny has right sweater on is to take digital photos of her and print them out, label them with post-it notes that say which episode is which, and tape them to the studio door (photo at right).

Happy Moments

When the cameras aren't rolling, we do have a lot of fun, giggly moments. The folks at the studio and the people we work with in the yarn industry are one-of-a-kind, genuine people. It's been a pleasure working closely with everyone involved.

Thank you for another great season!

Season 700 of Knitting Daily TV will begin airing on Public Television stations nationwide this coming July, be sure to check your local listings to see if it will air in your area.

Cheers,

Are you ready for another season of Knitting Daily TV?
Post a comment on this blog by noon Mountain Time on Tuesday, May 31st, and you'll be entered to win the lastest season of Knitting Daily TV on DVD! Coming out this July, the newest 4-DVD set includes 13 full episodes featuring Eunny Jang and experts Kristin Omdahl and Shay Pendray. Plus, you'll receive two bonus segments with host Eunny, which will never air on Public Television. Dive into knitting tutorials on Fair Isle and Short Rows with these 9 minute long bonus videos, sure to improve your knitting skills.

Tell us what you think! Let us know why Knitting Daily TV is your go-to resource for knitting and crochet techniques. Fill us in on your favorite episode, guest star, pattern, or knitting technique that has been shown over the years. What time do you watch Knitting Daily TV in your area? Do you knit while you watch? Share your thoughts and you could win the latest series!

Click here to purchase DVDs of previous seasons of Knitting Daily TV.

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.)

Free Beach Cover-Up Pattern from KT Baldassaro!

Knitting Daily TV — Wed, 11 May 2011 10:20:00 GMT

KT Baldassaro appeared for the first time in series 600 of Knitting Daily TV, and soon became a fan favorite. A designer for Feza Yarns, she takes novelty yarns to the extreme with classy, fun patterns beyond the scarf. We caught up with KT to see what she's been knitting lately. She shares her recent knitting eploxits, the joys of knitted lace, and a free lace beach cover-up pattern. Thanks, KT. Here's to summer knitting!

From Feza Yarn's KT Baldassaro:

As I sit here finishing this sweater, I vaguely remember a point in my life when I had never knit anything more than a potholder-- and never thought I'd be able to do much more. I had many, many intermediate and advanced pattern books about my room, but they were treated more like coffee table books. I coveted the garments in them, and even began to envy the models: not for their beauty, but because I imagined you'd have to be able to knit the sweater before they'd let you model it. Needless to say, I was younger then; however, I still encounter this phenomenon today. Although none of us still have such naive thoughts how the books are put together and published, we still have these lingering voids of 'knitting-esteem.'

I know that when I first decided to "bite the wax tadpole" and make a garment that scared me, I chose a lace shawl. There's something so beautiful and rewarding in lace. People look at it and say, "You made that?! But it's so delicate. You must be a knitting genius!" Even avid knitters can appreciate the time spent highlighting charts, and really learning how to pick up a dropped stitch, when they see a handmade lace garment go by. So why does there seem to be this absolute divide in our minds about lace knitting ability? People say they either can or they can't, when more people should say they're trying. Not all lace patterns need to be a knitted interpretation of a stained glass window. Like any craft, there are levels of difficulty. Start at the bottom and build your way up. Lace can be a very rewarding learning exercise, especially with the right pattern.

Lace is also appearing in just about every swim catalogue being sent out this year. Beach cover-ups have gone from over-sized Men's t-shirts (that say something about the heat and whether or not you should be in the kitchen) to alluring and flattering knit/crocheted tops. The choice of knitting a beach cover-up makes a lot of sense. Firstly, because we're always racking our brains for good summer-wear projects. Secondly, because knitted lace (when done in the appropriate fibre) breaths well and allows the wearer to feel "covered" while still showing off bits of skin--and that not-so-cheap swimsuit you bought!

So with all this in mind, I designed this Lace Kimono Beach Cover-up (pictured left). Don't be frightened by the fact that it's a full garment and not some small neck-wrap. It's got a simple and flattering shape that allows for easy working of the very friendly Oblique Lace stitch, which is simply an alternating series of yarn-overs and K2togs. That's something that I bet most of you trepidacious knitters know how to do. The vertical line of a high contrast colour yarn at the front of the piece not only gives it a bit of pop, but acts as an additional body flattering design element, because all good beach wear should have some! I chose Alp Natural by Feza Yarns (pictured above) for this design because it's a variegated, hand-tied yarn that uses natural fibres. This is crucial for a garment you intend to wear out in the heat and the sun. You also get the best of everything to work with. Mixtures of linen, cotton, viscose, and silk all come together to create a fun and easy change in your lace work without you needing to change it yourself.

Give it a try this summer; knit some lace. You may find yourself getting looks at the beach for more than just your sunburn.

Download KT Baldassaro's Lace Kimono Beach Cover-up pattern!

This post was sponsored by Feza Yarns, Yarns for Hand Knitting. For more information on the yarn KT used in the Lace Kimono Beach Cover-up, novelty yarns for hand knitting, and more designs by KT, visit fezayarns.com.

Newsworthy Alert:
Design like KT! Feza Yarns in currently running a single skein design contest until the end of June. Enter your knitted one-skein masterpieces and you could be featured in Feza Yarn's next pattern-book, free yarn, and more. See the details online at fezayarns.com.

Watch KT and more top-notch knitwear designers on the latest series of Knitting Daily TV on a 4-Disc DVD Collection! Click here to purchase DVDs of this season or previous seasons of Knitting Daily TV.

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's 24-DVD Giveaway on Facebook, Plus Get Started Knitting with Eunny Jang!

Knitting Daily TV — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:09:00 GMT

Over the years viewers of Knitting Daily TV have sung the praises of host Eunny Jang's Getting Started segments, in-depth studies of knitting techniques and know-how. Some of the most popular Getting Started segments have included twisted stitch pattern ideas, bobble knitting, and Fair Isle tips and tricks. The latest season of Knitting Daily TV asked viewers what they'd like to see in upcoming episodes, and a resounding vote for short rows, steeking, and more Fair Isle topped the list. So, that's what Eunny focused on in series 700, coming out this June.

You can watch various videos of Eunny's Getting Started segments online at the video gallery. Here's the latest video to appear, a tutorial in knitted increases from episode 613:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

All of Eunny's Getting Started segments are outlined online at KnittingDailyTV.com, in the Getting Started blog. This a great online resource for finding a specific technique you'd like to learn and pairing it up with the correct series of Knitting Daily TV.

Plus, when you purchase the 4-DVD set of the entire series, Eunny also includes bonus segments that are never aired on Public Television. In series 600's DVD set, Eunny's bonus tutorials dive even more in-depth with another look at twisted stitches and the brioche stitch with fun pattern ideas and even more tips and tricks for these two techniques.

Knitting Daily TV is all about learning and becoming a better knitter, and host Eunny Jang focuses on making knitting easy with step-by-step demonstrations so knitters of all skill levels can watch and learn from the show.

We want you to watch!
We get many comments about the show, how to improve upon it, what viewers would like to see more of, and even what segments they'd prefer to not see. We want to hear more! A great way to communicate with Eunny and the producers of Knitting Daily TV is our Facebook page, where you can leave comments about episodes you've seen, get the latest news, see videos of Eunny and guests, hear about behind-the-scenes happenings, and much more. If you haven't already "liked" us on Facebook, please do. We'll be giving an entire set of Knitting Daily TV to one of our Facebook friends next week! "Like" us before noon Mountain Time on May 11th, and you'll be automatically entered to win Series 100-600 on DVD! That's 24 DVDs, 78 episodes, and 5 bonus segments with Eunny! We'll randomly choose the winner next week, so be sure to visit our Facebook page before then.

And while you're there, say hello! Leave a comment or post about the show. We want our Facebook page to be a community of viewers that interact with each other and the crew of the show. Please be a part of Knitting Daily TV!

To shop Knitting Daily TV DVDs, you can visit the Knitting Daily Shop online here.

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.)

Yumiko Alexander's Free DanDoh Scarf Pattern for Japan, Plus a Knitted Kimono Kit Giveaway!

Knitting Daily TV — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:28:00 GMT

Knitting Daily TV is chock-full of well-known knitting and crochet designers, and series 600 is no exception. On episode 605 designer Yumiko Alexander shares with Shay Pendray her experience designing garments in knit and crochet for her first book with Universal Yarn: Yumiko Warm Earth. To see the full collection of patterns in the book and to see other patterns designed by Yumiko Alexander, visit www.universalyarn.com

Watch the video:
(Please visit the site to view this media)

And here's Yumiko with more about her designing, in particular designing a beautiful scarf pattern to help those in her native Japan:

I am Japanese. When I moved to the US in 1997 my English was limited and everything was very new for me. But I have been always myself because of my knitting. Knitting is a way to communicate with people and my designs express myself without talking. Knitting has made my life in the US very beautiful.

In Japan, I designed and sold my original knitted and crocheted garments. After I moved to the US, I started to write my patterns. Support for my development as a fiber artist has come from many sources. Important among them is Tempe Yarn and Fiber, a local yarn shop in Tempe, AZ, and Universal Yarn, for which I am a designer, and for whom I published my first book in 2010: Universal Yarn Book 1: Warm Earth Book 1.

With the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last month I became very sad and worried. I was just watching the news and thought that I could not do anything for those so far away in Japan. But my knitting friends said: "Let's start a charity knitting project for Japan" and they started knitting hats right away. Then I thought: "I can do something for Japan as a designer," and so I created an easy scarf pattern in Wisdom Yarns Poems Silk for the project, called the DanDoh Scarf - Knitted Hug for Japan (pictured right). Now I feel much better and positive. While making the scarves, the knitters will think of the Japanese people, and those who wear the scarves will think of the people who made them.

Download the free pattern for Yumiko's DanDoh Scarf - Knitted Hug for Japan from the Universal Yarn website!

Celebrate Japan! Free Kimono Kit Giveaway:

Celebrate Yumiko's heritage and knit one of her Japan-inspired designs. Universal Yarn is giving away two kits to make the Kyoto kimono from her book Universal Yarn Book 1: Yumiko Warm Earth. Simply leave a comment on this blog to enter the giveaway. We'll randomly select two winners at noon MST, Wednesday, May 4th.

Tell us what you've done to aid Japan after the earthquake and tsunami, have you knitted anything with Japan in mind? Share with other knitters your stories of Japanese-inspired designs, what have you knitted that embodies the cultures and fashions of Japan? Let us know if you've ever traveled to Japan, and if the culture or Japanese lifestyle inspired your knitwear in any way.

If you haven't already donated to relief efforts in Japan, it's not too late. Please share your good fortune with those devastated by the earthquake and tsunami by visiting reputable donation sites. And take a moment out of your day to celebrate the wonderful people and cultures of Japan.

This blog was proudly sponsored by Universal Yarns. For more information on Yumiko Alexander's designs and publications, and Universal Yarn's products, please visit their website.

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.)

Trendsetter Yarn Giveaway, How-to Video, and More from Barry Klein

Knitting Daily TV — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:30:00 GMT

Barry Klein is a regular guest-star on Knitting Daily TV. Often seen with fellow knitwear designer Laura Bryant, Barry focuses on designing knitwear to fit correctly, but adds a flair to knitting yarns to also create fun, functional designs.

You can watch various videos of Barry and co-star Laura online at the Knitting Daily TV video gallery. Coauthors of the book The New Knitter's Template, Barry and Laura have talked techniques for knitters this past season and demonstrate how you can take any stitch pattern and apply it to any pattern, customize your sweater necklines, and even how to substitute yarns based on your knitted gauge. Here's Laura and Barry in episode 604, explaining one of their helpful tips from The New Knitter's Template:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Owner of Trendsetter Yarns, Barry's yarns have been showcased on Knitting Daily TV to rave reviews and have become just as famous as Barry! You can download the free Zig Zag jacket pattern seen on this episode 604 (and pictured at right), which is a classic cardigan that is dressed up with fun leaf and bead elements that are pre-strung to the yarn Barry offers. When Barry says, "let the yarn do the work for you," he's referring to these fashion-forward yarns that add a "wow" element to your knitting automatically, which are also incredibly fun to work with.

And he has more in store for you in Knitting Daily TV Series 700!

Spoiler-Alert!

In the upcoming season of Knitting Daily TV, which begins airing in July 2011 on Public Television, Barry shows his brand-new novelty and fashion yarns that add punch and pizzazz to your knitting. One of the yarns is the new ribbon yarn (see left) called Flamenco. Available in six solid-colors and four vareigated colorways, this yarn features a fun meshing that you can spread and knit into, which makes a fun ruffle-effect. Laura sports a V-neck vest in the photo above, where the Flamenco yarn adds an easy, breezy ruffle to the neckline. Or, you can leave it "unspread" and knit on the edge to create a very tight ribbon-effect. You can read more about this yarn and see all the colorways on the Trendsetter Yarn website.

Giveaway! Three lucky knitters will own two skeins of Flamenco yarn!

In celebration of fun, easy, and fashionable knitting this summer, Barry has offered to give away Flamenco yarn! Simply comment on this blog post and let us know which color of Flamenco is your favorite, what you'd knit with this great yarn, or if you've knit with this yarn before what the experience was like. We'll randomly choose three lucky knitters from this post's comments to receive two skeins of Flamenco yarn (enough to make a scarf!). Winners will be chosen at noon Mountain Time on Wednesday, April 27th, so be sure to comment before then!

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.)

TRENDSETTER YARNS

This blog post has been sponsored by Trendsetter Yarns. Visit their website for more information on Trendsetter yarns, patterns, and more.

Laura Bryant Talks Color, PLUS A Knitter's Guide to Color DVD Giveaway!

Knitting Daily TV — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 11:35:00 GMT

Laura Bryant is a knitwear designer, author, and yarn company owner. You've seen her on Knitting Daily TV many times, sharing her knowledge on a variety of knitting techniques. She studied color in college at the University of Michigan and has used that expertise in color, combined with her love of fiber, to establish Prism Arts, Inc. Recently Laura taped a series of workshop DVDs to explain in-depth her color theories and how they could pertain to knitting and other fiber arts. If you haven't seen the preview for her new DVD, A Knitter's Guide to Color, you can watch it here:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

A note from Knitting Daily TV's Associate Producer, Annie Hartman Bakken:

I can't stress enough how much you'll learn from Laura's A Knitter's Guide to Color DVD! Even if you feel like you have a good sense of color and wouldn't venture into uncharted waters when it came to color combinations, because you know what looks good based on putting yarns next to each other when planning your knitwear color designs, this DVD will bring a whole new view of color into your work--you don't know what you're missing.

I took a color class in college, cutting up bits of Color-Aid paper and pasting them on top of another, next to each other, spending hours on end training my eye to pick up on color theory. . . the "ah-ha" moment of grasping color is something i will never forget. That color class was my favorite college course because of the severity of that moment, and now I see colors differently.

With Laura's DVD, you won't have to sign up for a class on color theory and spend the time I did on training your eye. You'll learn how color reacts when combined with other colors, based on weight, based on color value. This DVD goes far beyond the color wheel, so don't expect to learn about complimentary colors. Instead, you'll walk away with a sincere approach to color that will broaden your knowledge and allow you to explore color options in knitting to create visually appealing, stunning works of art.

Here are some great tips for learning more about color with Laura's DVD:

--Pause the workshop, walk away from the television. Training your eye to see colors is not easy. The more committed you are to really looking at color, the more you'll get out of the video. When you pause the workshop and walk away from the television, take a moment to look at the colors from across the room. Training your eye to pick up on color values and weights from a variety of distances will only increase your knowledge. Think of it this way, when you have two colors next to each other, say a neon orange and a neon pink, from a distance you won't be able to decipher the line of intersection of the colors if they're of the same weight. Now, combine that neon orange with a pale, mint green. I bet you could see the distinct place where you changed colors, even from a great distance.

--Use Color-Aid paper. The colored paper that Laura uses in the video is available for purchase at many art stores, even online at shop.knittingdaily.com. You can cut up this paper, use it over and over again, and continuously come up with color combinations that you'd never thought of before with the wide variety of options in one package of paper. Instead of walking into a yarn store and holding up skeins of yarn next to one another, you can walk into your LYS with a plan in mind. You may be surprised with what you walk out with!

--Watch the video on your computer, your old television, and even your plasma big-screen. Colors look different on different screens. If you have one of those old television with an antenna, the colors seen in the video may be a little "off." This doesn't mean you won't learn about values, weights, color combinations. Now, watch the same video on your new laptop, and the colors will be way more lively and "correct." This exercise, although it may sound silly, is actually a great way to train your eye. Your brain will automatically tell you what color you're looking at, or supposed to be looking at, and you'll ignore the weight and value your eye picks up on. Discovering this difference and relying on what you see, not what you think you see, is just one step in mastering color theory.

GIVEAWAY!
Laura's A Knitter's Guide to Color DVD is now available, and we're giving away a DVD to two lucky winners that wants to take the challenge of training their eyes to see color in a whole new way. Simply comment on this post before noon Mountain Time on Monday, April 18th, when we'll randomly select two names and send you a free copy of Laura's DVD. Tell us why you want to learn more about color, or what unique color combinations you've used in your knitwear already. Share what unexpected color combinations you think would work, you're excited to try. And, if you've already seen Laura's workshop DVD, tell us what you think, share something you learned.

You don't get "WOW!" by doing the expected!

Laura Bryant is a regular guest on Knitting Daily TV, sharing designs, tips and techniques for knitting to fit your shape, and more. On series 600 of Knitting Daily TV, she and Barry Klein join up to share information on knitted gauge, how to modify your pattern for any yarn or stitch pattern, and even how to modify your neckline. You can see Laura and Barry and watch their series 600 segments in our video gallery. Or, watch Laura and Barry on DVD--Knitting Daily TV is available for purchase here.

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.)