16 January 2019

I've been quiet for awhile and that's because I've been knitting. Cooperatively, Lyn and I knitted the Swan's Twist Top using Knit One Crochet Too's Daisy. The yarn is a blend of linen, silk and hemp. It has a wonderful drape. I will include a picture as soon as I have a model to put it on.

Aside from that I've been knitting away on my second version of John's Sweater. The fingering weight of JaggerSpun Heathers in Dewberry knits wonderfully. The back is finished and the calculations are working out. It helps to have a live dress model to try the knitting on. I've started the front. The only thought required was for how many pattern repeats will fit and which repeat do I start with.

As always, stop by the shop and see what has been done. You're always welcome to join us at the table to sit and knit any time the shop is open.

1 November 2018

I've now knitted two complete repeats of pattern. The gauge is perfect. Over pattern, I've knitted 5.5" above the ribbing.....

     ".... But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep ..." (Robert Frost)

 

13 October 2018

I've finished one full row repeat of the Nora Gaughan knot pattern. My calculations were correct (whew!) and the take-up gave me the correct width. I'm not so worried about the row gauge because I have to knit to length anyway.

The fingering weight of the JaggerSpun Heathers in color Dewberry is an easy color to work with and shows the stitch detail well.

Now it's just on with knitting to finish the back. Five more row repeats of 31 rows will get me to the underarm.

3 October 2018

You can call me crazy but my wife kept commenting on how beautiful the sweater was that I knitted for my brother. How could I refuse offering.....

The sport weight Heathers by Jagger Spun was going to be too heavy so I knitted a pattern sample using fingering weight Heathers.

I started knitting with the needle size that I used for my brother's sweater and that just wasn't working. So down a needle size and that worked perfectly. You can see how I continued to knit a gauge swatch just changing the needle size.

Armed with my new gauge (11.2 sts/inch) I made a guide for what I need to knit. Just a rough sketch for where I'm going. Oh, and yes, she wanted a cardigan. I haven't worked out how to knit the pattern on both sides of the 'button band', but I have some thoughts. I will be knitting the front edge band double wide in stockinette stitch, with a turning stitch, and folding it to the inside and sewing it down. That way the front edge of the sweater will be stabilized and the bands will have some body.

With the exception of the back, what I will do is all guess work. I'm not afraid to backup if necessary and change what I'm doing to make it work.

This will be an interesting journey. Stop by the shop and see how it's going. Want to give it a try? Let's talk.

3 October 2018

Okay, I'm getting up on my soap box.

That said, when knitting a gauge swatch, DON'T cast-on the number of stitches that should give you 4". You CANNOT determine the gauge from a wrinkled piece of material with no margins. You need a clear area of knitting to measure without trying to 'tame' the edges.

You should cast-on at least 12 to 20 more stitches than you would have for a 4" area and knit at least 6" vertically.

So, if you are to get a gauge of 20 sts to 4 inches (5 sts/inch) then cast on 30 to 32 stitches and knit for 6".

If your gauge isn't working then DON'T ravel the yarn. Knit two rows to put a garter ridge across your knitting, change your needle size and keep on knitting. Now you can compare what is happening when you change the needle size.

What ever you do, DON'T ravel out your gauge and immediately re-knit a gauge using the same yarn. You've stretched out the yarn by knitting it and your gauge will not be accurate.

Now I'm stepping off my soap box. Thank you for reading my rant.

29 August 2018

It's finished!

This was a challenge but the finished product was worth it. I did have to ravel back several times to fix errors but that's what happens when you're not paying attention. The JaggerSpun, Heathers was a dream to work with and wet finished with a really soft hand. It took almost two cones of Heathers 3/8 (which translates to sport weight) for a size 42 which would be about 2600 yards of yarn. Knitting with cones was a pleasure and eliminated ends that needed to be worked in. All I need to do now is add my label and an abalone shell tab and I'm set to give this as a gift. Whew!

My journey is summed up on our Ravelry page: John's Sweater.

If you'd like to try this, stop by the store and talk.

20 July 2018

Two new yarns have hit the shelves:

It's easy to make striped & patterned projects with Heritage Prints! This self-patterning, super-soft yarn is a machine washable blend of superwash merino and nylon - a soft yet sturdy combination! Patterns and stripes emerge all on their own as you work. This yarn is great for a one skein project, socks, Mitts. There are 437 yards per ball.

There are free patterns on the Cascade Yarns website:

Melilla Fingering is a new color changing yarn that contains a generous helping of silk and has long transitions through eight colors per colorway. Use it to add interest to simple designs or to accentuate modular or geometric design components. There are 437 yards of yarn per ball. Great for a single ball project.

This fingering weight version of the yarn is so new that Cascade hasn't even put it up on the website as of yet. Patterns will be available soon. Here's an idea of what the yarn looks like knitted. I don't even have samples of the new colors - it's that new!