Twisted Decreases Again

Yes, I know it has been quite some time since I've posted an entry.  No excuses but I'll try to do better.

STUDENT NEWS
I did receive quite a few lessons and despite my general laziness in doing blog entries, I managed to review them all the day I received them.  A reminder...For my non-US students, I will no longer send back the swatches after each lesson.  Postage is just too high and I don't want to increase the cost of the course.  What I have been doing is photographing areas of swatches that need special attention.  I think this will work.

TIP OF THE WEEK
This week's tip was prompted by questions from several students.  In Lesson 2 of the Basics course covers different types of decreases with an emphasis on mirroring them.  If you are an experienced knitter mirroring isn't big news but for new knitters, thanks to the way patterns are written it can be new information.  The way most patterns state how to place decreases is part of the problem--"Dec 1 at each neck edge every RS row 3 times".  How would you know not to place the decrease in the selvedge stitch and that there are other decreases than k2tog.

Unless someone points it out, a knitter may not even notice that they are twisting SSK or SKP decreases which means they won't mirror the k2tog decreases.  In the photograph below I've labeled four left slanting decreases.  (K2tog decreases slant to the right.  If this isn't ringing a bell you might want to look at Mirroring Decreases, an earlier blog.)




A is a properly worked SSK where the stitches are slipped knitwise to the other needle to ensure that they won't be twisted.  Care was taken not to stretch out the looks.  Notice that the stitch on top is open at the bottom as is the stitch underneath.

B is a k2tog tbl (two stitches knit together through the back loop).  Another way to look at this is an SSK where the stitches haven't been slipped.  Compare A and B and you can see that both stitches in B are twisted at the base.  Twisted stitches are more noticeable and don't mirror k2tog decreases.

C is an SKP decrease where the stitch has been slipped purlwise, not knitwise.  This twists the decrease.  To make an SKP properly you must slip the stitch knitwise.  (General rule...if the stitch is going to be used on the same row, slip it knitwise.  If it is to be used on the next row, slip it purlwise.)

D is an SSK where only the top stitch is slipped.  I've had several students tell me that they are sure I haven't seen this before since it is so marvelous a solution to oversized SSK decreases.  Nope.  I'm aware of this decrease technique.   Compare A and D and see if you can spot the difference.  If you don't slip both stitches, the stitch underneath is twisted and yes, this does change the appearance of the decrease.  Feel free to use this technique in your own projects any time but if you are doing the Masters Program, you will be expected to produce an SSK without any of the stitches twisted.  

Here is a link to the video I did of these decreases:  Left Slanting Decreases

KNITTING SALON
Salon will be on Sunday from 1:30 to 3:20.  

CURRENT PROJECTS
Actually I don't feel too bad about not making a posting after I looked at all of the knitting I've been doing.  Between holiday/birthday projects and things for Cast On, I've been busy.  By the way, I learned the hard way this year when I was trying to figure out what I'd given for gifts last year .  I didn't put them in my blog--hence the number of photos this year.



I did take a photo of the first thing I did for the Spring issue and posted it in my last entry.  This is a hoodie knit with Mondo Fil yarns.  One is a cotton strand and the other is a metallic.  The drape of this is really amazing, sort of like light weight chain mail. It is called the Rose Gold Hoodie.  The hood is oversized so that it drapes nicely on the shoulders when not worn.

I realized that we very rarely do designs for children so we bought a child size mannequin and we will have two designs for girls in the Spring issue.  This is a top and skirt worked in Anzula's Gerty, an American Targhee yarn.  I chose it as it is so springy.  This garment is sized from Child's 4 to Adult Small.  If you look closely at the photo to the right you can see our new baby mannequin and yes, it does have Christmas lights on it.  (I took the lights off of the child mannequin to put the clothes on it.  They were a nice addition to my dining room for the holidays.)



I did a bunch of presents....

Socks with zig zag pattern (which I love).



I liked it so much I used it for a couple of buffs (didn't photograph them all)...

My sister and my niece and nephew all wanted hats, in gray.  The first one has a cabled cuff and the last one has a sawtooth boarder and yes, there are lights around the mannequin head which I've named Anne Boleyn.

 I made several pairs of texting gloves (and I still have to do a few more pairs).  I kept one of the pairs I knit for the Fall 2017 issue of Cast On and I have to say, they do keep my hands warm.  When I walked to Starbucks this morning it was 9 degrees. 

Now to start thinking about things for the Summer 2018 issue....

I am glad to be home after all my travels.  I did get a day or two home between each trip which allowed me time to review lessons, etc.  It was nice going back to DC and seeing friends but I don't miss the traffic.  I had forgotten how horrible it can be at certain times of the day.

TNNA was fun as well.  I prowled the booths looking at new products for Penny to review in Cast On and yarns to use in our designs.  There were lots of fun things.  I would have liked to take some photos but it isn't allowed.  The linen skirt and shell from the last issue were in the fashion show.  They looked great on the model. 

The TKGA conference went very well.  I think everyone had a good time.  Masters Day was successful and we will continue to tweak it.  I enjoyed my classes.  I was having such a good time I didn't take any photos!  The TKGA facebook page will have photos of the meeting.  As always, the best part is getting to meet my students and seeing the Master Committee members.  I think we had more Master Knitters pinned this year at the banquet than every before. 

One of the high points for me is that B.J. Licko-Keel, one of the earliest members of TKGA and a fabulous crocheter who was in my Picking Up Stitches class taught me a new cast on.  I've never seen this one before.  I had been trying out various cast on techniques for my pleated cardigan and this one was perfect.  I will do a video for the cast on for the On-Line Extras in TKGA.com when the pattern comes out.
 
STUDENT NEWS
Quite a few students signed up for the Basics Course while I was gone.  Luckily I can send them links to my DropBox so they can get started right away.  Some students have had trouble getting all of the links.  There should be four:  Cover Letter, General Information, Reference and Swatches.  If you don't get all four, let me know right away.  Also the files have lots of photographs so some students have had trouble printing them out.  If that is the case, I can easily send a hard copy.

I saw quite a few students who have completed the course at Masters Day.  I'm glad they are going on.  The Masters Program is a lot of work but it definitely helps you improve your skills.

The students in my Swatch to Sweater class are all making great progress.  Lola was in Manchester and brought her sweater.  She is well on her way.  Lois sent me a photo of her progress.  She is now shaping the V-check.  Kate, who has just started has come up with a great design.  She is posting her progress in a blog and is giving updates in Ravelry.

TIP OF THE WEEK
One of the most common errors I see in Lesson 2 of the Basics Class and in Level 1 of the Masters Program is twisted decreases.  Why is this such a big deal?  Twisted decreases have a different gauge and are more noticeable than the untwisted variety and if decreases are twisted on one side of a neckline, they draw the eye and not in a good way.  They do not mirror untwisted decreases.   Luckily it is pretty difficult to twist most decreases.  The only one that is easy to twist is the SKP.  Write this rule down:  If you are slipping a stitch that will be worked on the SAME row (like a decrease), always slip the stitch KNITWISE.  If you are slipping a stitch which will be worked on the NEXT row (like mosaic stitches), always slip the stitch PURLWISE. 

In the video I did for this tip, I show how to produce the twisted version of the K2tog, KSP, SSK and SKP decreases.  To test for a twisted decrease, stretch the stitch sideways and you will see it is crossed at the bottom.  Untwisted decreases are open at the base.  Twisted Stitches Video

For most projects you want the decreases to be unobtrusive.  If that is the case, use untwisted decreases.  If you want the decreases to stand out, use the twisted versions.  About the only place you will see twisted decreases in a pattern is in lace.  In upcoming weeks I plan to discuss purlside decreases (untwisted and twisted) and twisted stitches in general. 

KNITTING SALON
Salon will be on Saturday this week.  It seems like forever since I've had my friends over.  I am looking forward to it.  

CURRENT PROJECTS
I did not get much knitting done while I was traveling.  Of course, I took several projects with me.  Even though we drove to DC I didn't knit much in the car.  I enjoyed the scenery.  It was quite a trip down memory lane.  We drove down to Charlottesville to visit UVa and our old haunts (many were still there!) and ran into the protests over the forced resignation of the president.  Several of the more business oriented members of the Board wanted her gone she she was dragging her heels at getting rid of unprofitable departments like German and Classics.  I was appalled as a student of the classics.  All in all, it is a terrible situation.  

Anyway, I did finish the hats while at TNNA.  I made the mistake of asking Jane Miller, one of the editors of Cast On if she thought I had enough I-cords on the hats.  She gave the wrong answer so I spent my evenings making I-cords.  Again, I want to thank Charles Gandy for the idea.  His Dread Socks in this new book The Embellished Sock (a blatant plug!) inspired me.  It is so lovely, it is now on my coffee table!

The hats were so much fun to knit.  I showed them to Mira Cole, the owner of Baah! yarns and she was thrilled.  After the photo shoot I will send her one. 

I finished the Breakfast at...socks for Cast On as well.  Since I photographed the pair I made early I won't post another.

Now I am working on the Pleated Cardigan.  I am beginning to realize that I am crazy.  First of all I do all of those Fair Isle sweaters with lace weight yarn and now this!  Pleats require three layers to be folded.  The sweater has 10 pleats.  Think about it.  I had to cast on 656 stitches.  The pleats are at the bottom of the sweater and are 6.5" long.  I only have one more row until I can work the pleats. 

This photograph does not really show how long the piece is right now.  According to my gauge calculations it is 107 inches long.  After the pleats are worked, it will be 40 inches.  (The back and fronts are worked at the same time.  The photo does show all of the markers.  When you do pleats you have to have slipped stitches at the fold lines.  Figuring how many stitches to cast on really requires math and geometry.  I found it exhausting.  I am so glad B.J showed me the cast on.  I didn't want a bulky cast on (the pleats are bulky enough).  This one is perfect.  Also, it isn't a long tail variety so I didn't need to try and figure out how long of a tail I needed for 656 stitches!

Later today I will pleat the thing.  There will be a braid using three colors to separate the pleats from the body.  One of the booths visited at the TKGA conference was Dusty's Vintage Buttons.  They only sell at shows, not on-line since so much of the stock is one of a kind.  She has amazing buttons.  Penny Sitler, the editor of Cast ON, picked out the buttons for this sweater...composition buttons from 1880. 

I always look forward to visiting the booth as I have a weakness for vintage buttons, especially mother of pearl and bakelite.  Here are the latest for my collection.