The photo shoot for the Summer issue of Cast On was on Tuesday.  I drove up to Granville the night before.  I snapped a few photos of my garments while Julia, the model was getting ready.  I've been in a "less is more" phase lately as these garments illustrate.  I know my next project will be a "more is more" kind of sweater.  Sometimes I think it is harder to knit something simple.  Every mistake shows.  I should have got a photo of the back.  I sacrificed my vintage bakelite buttons for this blouse!  The dress looks pretty good as well.

 

 



 

STUDENT NEWS 

It was a slow week.  Just a few lessons to review.  I have been putting the final touches on Lesson 1 of the Finishing Course since it will be available on the 18th.  The reference section is very detailed.  I put in lots of photos which show the right way to do things and the wrong way. 

 

Registration for the Mackinac meeting opened on the 11th.  There has been a good response.  It is a fabulous location for a meeting.  I am going to remember to take photographs this year.

 

TIP OF THE WEEK

I had planned on doing more finishing videos but a couple of things happened this week which has prompted me to put that off for a bit.  Swatches in my classes and in the Masters Program are to be tagged in the upper left hand corner.  This lets the reviewer see that the knitter can "read" their work.  Lately, a lot of the swatches I've looked at are tagged wrong.  Sometimes I think it was a simple mistake but other times I've not been sure that the knitter can read their work.  Also, I've noticed that many knitters cannot read their work as they knit it...count rows, identify different types of increases and decreases, etc.  They seem to focus only on the stitches on their needle and if the stitch count is accurate.  This makes it difficult to spot a mistake.  I've decided I'm going to spend a few weeks on how to read knitting.  I'll start with the simple stuff...CO and BO edges.

 

The photographs will show the standard bind off and the long tail cast on.  The standard bind off looks like a chain.  When you bind off knitwise on the RS, the chain slants to the front as you can see in the photograph.  In this photograph, the "smooth" side of the cast on edge was chosen for the RS.  (The long tail cast on produces the first row of stitches.  If you knit the first row after the CO, the "bumpy" side will be the RS. For the swatch below, the first row after the CO was purled.) 

 

I've marked the upper left hand corner.  This is where the swatch should be tagged.  When you are tagging knitted fabric DON'T USE SAFETY PINS.  The stitches can get caught in the coils and safety pins have been known to cause rust stains as well.  Use waste yarn. 

 

 

 

The swatch in this photograph has a garter stitch border.  There are two ways to bind off to get this appearance.  You can bind off purlwise on the RS or knitwise on the WS.  If you bind off purlwise, the chain slants to the back of the work.  I've folded the swatch so you can see both the RS and WS.  I've labeled the cast on edges as smooth and bumpy. 

 

 

The swatch in the photograph was bound off in pattern.  What that means is that you work the stitches in the bind off as you would if it were a pattern row.  For seed stitch that means that if the stitch below is a knit stitch, you bind if off purlwise. If it is a purl stitch, you bind it off knitwise.   Notice that the chain stitches in the bind off edge doesn't slant to the RS or WS but are on the top.  The "bumpy" side of the cast on edge is shown.

 

 

Next week I will show how to read increases.  I think I'll have a little quiz at the end of the tip as well. 

 

By the way, this week's video also includes a demonstration of how to fix the last stitch of a bind off.  Someone requested that I make it more clear.  I hope this works!  Ugly Bind Off and How to Read your work

 

KNITTING SALON

Salon will be on Sunday from 2-5pm.  I will be at Rigoletto.  I am very excited about it.  It is also a basketball game.  Lexington is in mourning as one of the best players has an injury which will keep him out for the rest of the season. 

 

CURRENT PROJECTS

I can now post photographs of the socks I made for Stephanie's birthday.  It was yesterday.  I thought the Leaves of Spring pattern would work well with the green yarn.  It is one of my very favorites to knit. 

 

 

 

I finished up my hat.  I just need to block it.  My hands have been blue while I knit this.  I hope it doesn't do that on my head!

 

 

I spent the week working swatches for my summer sweater and I am ready to start knitting soon.  First I plan to lay out the designs for all sizes.  I've learned the hard way, this is much easier.  I worked swatches for all for the stars.  I was going to do them all in one color but I've decided to alternate the two darkest. 

 

 

The swatch at the top is the border.  I've used this same border, in different colors, of course, for all of the sweaters.

 

Here are the trees. The yarn is slightly variegated (thank you Elf for the suggestion!)  I have some minor changes to make to all of the charts.  I try to keep my stranding within .75 of a inch.  I don't like to catch floats.  It changes the appearance of the RS, especially very light fabric like this.

 

 

 

I have to laugh.  When I was in Reno, I had photographs of rainbow trout on my iPad to try and match the color.  My husband was quite insistent that it had to match exactly.  I did find a color that is EXACTLY the same color as rainbow trout.  The first swatch shows that.  My husband took one look at the swatch and said he thought they were more the color of the trees.  I am glad he feels that way as the second swatch shows the color much better.  I still am trying to decide what color to do the waves.  I think I like the medium color best.

 



A busy week but I didn't get much done.  We are shopping for a new car.  Our dear 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport with 260,000 miles has decided it cannot make another trip cross country.  The black jeep is now on the first leg of a cross country trip.  Now we need another car here.  I'd rather have a root canal...

 

I made good progress on the Finishing correspondence course, or as it is officially titled, "Professional Finishing Course".  I've finished up the reference section for Lesson 1 and I've made it available for the Masters Committee members to give it the once over since I suspect that the majority of students will be those working on Level 2.  I am enjoying the process.  It will be ready by the 18th.

 

STUDENT NEWS 

I only had a few lessons to review which worked out well since I had less time to work than I typically do.  I've noticed that I've had more students from outside the US than I have in the past.  Since the postal service can be so slow, I email my letter.  I think it would be a good idea for all my students, US and non-US, to photograph their swatches, front and back before sending them off.  You never know.  I've only had one lesson lost out of thousands sent but it would be good to have the photographs in case they are lost.

 

TIP OF THE WEEK

I've got finishing on my mind.  Expect many more tips about finishing.  This week's tip is about how to seam reverse stockinette stitch.  This is something that is tested in Level 2 of the Masters Program.  Many knitters I have met aren't aware that you use different techniques to seam different types of stitch patterns.  This applies only to vertical or selvedge seams.  For horizontal (or bound off edges) you seam in the center of a stitch and it doesn't matter what kind of stitch it is.  The mattress stitch is the best way to seam stockinette but if you use it to seam reverse stockinette stitch, the stitch pattern is not maintained on either side of the seam.  This is due to the stitch anatomy.  Reverse stockinette (and garter stitch) interlock on the RS while stockinette stitches are "stand alone" on the RS.  I've discussed in prior blog entries how reverse stockinette stitches interlock.  The stitch itself looks like a frown.  The space between the stitches looks like a smile.  When you seam reverse stockinette you seam the smiles on one side to the frowns on the other. 

 

 

As the photo illustrates these "smiles" and "frowns" can be hard to see.  You have a choice.  In the example in the photo, the "frowns" are actually in the selvedge stitch and really hard to see.  The smiles are in the space between the selvedge stitch and the first column of stitches.  The other way you can do this is to use the "frowns" in the first column of stitches rather than the selvedge. They are easier to see.  

 

 

This makes the seam more bulky but since selvedge stitches tend to be ugly, it might give you a better looking seam.  Either technique is acceptable in the Masters Program.  The video shows both techniques:  Reverse Stockinette Seam

 

KNITTING SALON

Salon will be on Sunday from 1:30-3:30.  The weather should be better!  Last week we had a snow storm and VERY little effort is made to clean the streets.  For someone who grew up out west I find it humorous how 1/8" of snow throws everyone into a panic.  I avoid grocery stores until after it snows.  Krogers reminds me of photographs you've seen of the evacuation of Saigon.  I wonder why anyone needs 5 gallons of milk, 6 loaves of bread and a 10 pack of toilet paper.

 

CURRENT PROJECTS

I won't post photographs of the birthday socks until next week.  I've got half of a sock left.  I finished the hat and my husband who never wants anything I have knitted expressed an interest in it so I gave it to him. 

 

 

I'm making one for me now with some Road to China (alpaca, cashmere, camel, and silk blend) I've had around forever.  The photo doesn't do the color justice.

 

 

 

I didn't get to swatch for the Utah sweater as I am still tinkering with the graphs.  I did wind the skeins into balls.  I hope by tomorrow I can start swatching.  The "theme" of the sweater is Summer in the Uintah mountains of Utah.  The top portion of the sweater will be stars in the night.  The next band will be pine trees in the twilight. The bottom band will be rainbow trout in a mountain stream.  In all of the season sweaters I've put in a motif as nod to the next season.  This will have an aspen leaf floating in the water.  The fish is a tribute to my husband's hobby.  He would like the fish to look more like real trout but I've explained, this is fair isle technique, not intarsia.  The sweater will have the same band as the other sweaters so I have to think about the colors for that as well. 

 

I thought it might be interesting to see the process I use for a stranded sweater so I have included the most recent charts (they will change) and the yarn.  The charts for the trees and fish don't show the background colors yet.  I have to play with the colors to see what I like.  Hopefully I will be posting photos of the swatches next week. 

 

Here are the stars.  The background will be navy and the stars will be one of the lighter blues.  Elf at Redfish suggested the purple.  I will swatch them all before making a decision.

 

 

Here are the trees.  The color for the trees is a very subtly variegated green.  I think I will use one of the medium blues for the background but I will swatch several choices.

 

 

I am very proud of these fish.  I looked at hundreds of photographs of fish.  I think they look pretty good for a charted design.  The chart shows the center back and front.  The fish face each other.  There is a small aspen leaf in the middle.  I'm still tinkering with this.  I don't catch floats when I do stranded work.  I design the motifs so that I don't have to.  The single stitches between the fish are bubbles. 

 

The colors in the chart don't match yarn.  It takes way too much time to get the colors right in the charts.  The photograph shows the actual colors pretty well.  The fish will be the olive-y color with coral stripes.   The white or the yellow will be used in the graphic band I've used in the other sweaters.  I'm not sure I will use all of the blues.  We will see how the swatching goes.

I "celebrated" a birthday this week and I have officially moved from "hag" to "crone."  Milestones are important!

 

 

STUDENT NEWS 

I spent the week working on Lesson 3 of the Gauge correspondence class...just in time, as it turns out.  Carolyn, one of the co-chairs of the Masters Committee reviewed it.  She is such a good proofreader (and I am a horrible proofreader).  Next week I move onto the Finishing Class.  It should be easier...less math.

 

Students are sending in lesson which also has been keeping me busy.  I really enjoy looking at what the students in the Swatch to Sweater class are designing. 

 

TIP OF THE WEEK

This really isn't a tip.  MarisOC in a Ravely post asked if I could video my way of knitting.  First of all, let me say that I know I knit in a different way and for that reason, I never teach anyone how to knit.  Second, I don't think it matters one tiny bit how people knit as long as it is comfortable for them and they get even tension.  I NEVER EVER would tell someone they are not knitting"right."  With that said, I don't remember who taught me how to knit.  Both of my grandmothers knit (one German, one English) and I did knit as a child but I didn't pick it up again until I was in my 30s so maybe I figured it out on my own.  I feel very self-conscious about how I knit since in the original Principles of Knitting, Hiatt devotes several paragraphs (pages 6-7) about my method ending with, "If someone you know knits this way, ...and offers to teach you how, decline as politely as possible, but do decline."  I find my method comfortable and since I knit very fast and my tension is very even I haven't wasted my time worrying about it. (By the way, I have pretty bad arthritis in my wrists and I can knit for hours at a time with no pain.)  Watch the video and decide for yourself.   How I knit  (Thanks to Stephanie who has agreed to be my videographer!)

 

By the way, I feel bad that I have had two request for tips of the week that I turned down.  I like to do things that are pretty generic and don't require a ton of set up.  For the tips I have to knit up samples and if it is a topic that requires some major knitting, I won't be able to do it.  I'd be happy to give you suggestion on topics like that.  One suggestion has prompted an article in Cast On so keep the ideas coming.   

 

KNITTING SALON

Salon will be on Saturday for a change.  The basketball game is an away game and doesn't start until 6pm.  It will be form 1:30-3:30pm.  There isn't an opera until Feb. 16th.  I am very excited as it will be a new production of Rigoletto set in 1960s Las Vegas.  The opera really lends itself to this time frame.  I NEVER recommend that someone see an opera as most would find it torture but if you have ever wanted to see an opera, this would be the one to see.  You'd recognize lots of the music (particularly if you ever watched Bugs Bunny cartoons.)

 

CURRENT PROJECTS

I finished up the baby present.  The new grandmother is picking it up this weekend.  I used some of my vintage mother of pearl buttons from my collection.  You can't tell how beautiful they are in this photograph.  I sort of collect vintage buttons.  I'm not a serious collector but I do love them.

 

 



 

 

I am also working on some socks for a birthday present but since I know the recipient read this blog I won't post a photo of them which would ruin the surprise but here is the yarn.  It is Miss Babs Northumbria and the color is My Kelley.  It is lovely to work with.



 

 

It has been very cold here and the one thing I have never knit for myself is a hat.  I've been wearing a really scroungy one on my morning walks to Starbucks and I have decided it is time to upgrade.  I'm using some Berocco Ultra Alpaca which is rapidly becoming my very favorite yarn.  I'm using the same technique I used for the peplum blouse.  The cuff (?) or band (?) is garter stitch and I will pick up stitches for the hat.  After working with the baby and sock yarn, it is like knitting with broom sticks. 

 

 

The ends will be grafted together before I pick up the stitches for the hat. 

Next week I will be posting swatches for the Utah sweater.  I can't wait to start!  It will be the final one in the series.  I'll be sad to be done (and so will Elf and Sandy at Redfish!)

 

 

 

 

I spent the early part of the week finishing the Baby Bee Socks for the Summer issue of Cast On.  I generally bring the garments with me but in case there is bad weather I decided to ship everything up to Zanesville before they all leave for TNNA in Long Beach.  I finished up the next article for the Finishing with Confidence series (Seed Stitch).  I am ashamed to admit it, but I have not yet completed Lesson 3 of the Gauge correspondence course and since I have students working on Lesson 2, I have a bit of a deadline.  I have lots of writing to do yet....

 

STUDENT NEWS

I received a few lessons to review.  Things are picking up now that the holidays are over.  I have a couple of new students as well. 

 

TIP OF THE WEEK

This tip is a follow up to the past two week.  I decided to put a picot cuff on the Baby Bee Socks.  When you have worked from the bottom to the top, as for sock cuffs or for waist bands on skirts, you have to make sure the cuff or waistband is stretchy enough.  If you bind this edge off and then baste it in place, it probably will be too tight (I learned this the hard way on a skirt.)  In the Fashion Framework series which will be in the Spring issue of Cast On, I used a partial grafting technique to close the hem.

 

In this technique you work the hem with a fold line and when the inside hem is long enough, leave the stitches live on the needle.  Cut the yarn leaving a very long tail and thread it onto a tapestry needle.  Fold the hem over.  To begin,  insert the tapestry needle purlwise into the first stitch on the knitting needle, leaving it on the knitting needle.  *Taking care to line up this stitch with the corresponding stitch on the RS of the work, insert the tapestry needle completely under this stitch.  Pull the yarn tightly.  Insert the needle knitwise into the stitch on knitting needle and drop it from the needle.  Insert the tapestry needle purlwise into the next stitch on the knitting needle, leaving it on the needle.  Repeat from the asterisk.

 

 

 

On the RS, the grafting is visible.  The photograph shows the yarn which surrounds the stitches. 

 

 

On the WS, the grafting blends in with the reverse stockinette stitches.

 

 

I did do a video for this technique.  Stephanie volunteered as the videographer which makes it easier for me...no adjusting the tripod.  Thanks so much!  Live Stitch Hem

 

KNITTING SALON

Since there is a basketball game on Saturday, Salon will be on Sunday from 1:30-3:30. 

 

CURRENT PROJECTS

I broke all speed records to get these socks done.  The stitch pattern seamed to take forever (especially compared to the stockinette dress and peplum blouse!)  Bobbles really take much longer.  These bobbles are really easy but they are still bobbles.  I ran the stitch pattern past Mary (her husband is the king of beekeepers and she gave her approval.)  Here is a close up of the pattern. 

 

 

Since the pattern multiple is 5 I couldn't really rib the top so I decided to do a picot hem.  I think they turned out rather cute. 

 

I am getting a break from Cast On knitting for a few weeks.  I am finishing up presents.  I am doing a baby outfit for a friend's first grandchild.  (You can probably tell it is a granddaughter!)  It is going to be a full skirt and a matching vest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Ice Storm Ever

NOTE:  I apologize to anyone who looked at the blog earlier today.  There were technical issues with the photos!

We had the perfect ice storm earlier this week...just enough to coat the trees.  The roads were fine.  They didn't even close the schools (which is saying something since they close the schools for the threat of a storm.)  This is the view from my front porch.  There is a historic house across the street.
 

 

I had a busy week finishing up the dress and the peplum blouse.  I also finished the patterns and the schematics. 

 

STUDENT NEWS

Again, I think my students know when I am going to have a busy week and hold off sending lessons in.  I reviewed just three lessons this week.  

 

Something came up this week which has happened before.  If you order a course from me and you don't get an email within 2 or 3 days, there is something wrong.  I send out the materials the same day I get the order from TKGA.  Sometimes there is a lag on their side.  If you don't hear from me, either contact me or TKGA.  My policy is to process orders immediately and review lessons the day I get them.  (If I don't, I tend to forget about them!)  The only exception is if I am out of town.  I can still send out the materials for the courses since I take my iPad.

 

I plan to get started on the Finishing Class next week.  There was a question about the course on Ravelry.  The course covers the same finishing techniques tested in Level 2 of the Masters Program.  I will provide the students with a very thorough reference document for each lesson.  It will have lots of labeled photographs similar to those I post here.  You don't have to be doing the Masters Program to take the Finishing Class--just the desire to know how to finish.  I have been a textiles judge at the Kentucky State Fair and I have noticed that the majority of the knitted articles have not been finished properly.  It really detracts from the appearance of the garment.  You can be the best knitter in the world but if the finishing is sloppy the object looks "homemade" instead of "handmade".

 

TIP OF THE WEEK

As promised the tip this week is about provisional cast ons and picot hems.  There are many uses for provisional cast ons but I will focus on just one.   If you want a double hem, you can use the technique demonstrated last week.  As I mentioned earlier a drawback of that technique is that if the cast on is tight, the piece will not stretch.  This could be a problem for a hat.  Also, a provisional cast on is easier to see than the cast on edge, particularly if you are using a dark yarn.

 

The easiest way to do a provisional cast on is to crochet a chain and pick up stitches on the back of the chain.  Using a slippery yarn and a largish crochet hook, make a chain that has at least ONE stitch more than the number of stitches you want to cast on.  In the photograph below I have arrows marking the bumps.  I apologize for the color of the text which is unreadable.



When you make your crochet chain, be sure you know which end is which.  If you start at the end with the last chain, it should just unravel.  If you start at the beginning end, good luck.  You will wind up cutting it out.  I generally cut the yarn tail at the end very short or tie a knot in it so I can tell them apart.

 

When you are ready to work the stitches from the cast on, you put them on a needle.  The photo shows the needle being inserted into the stitch below the crochet chain. 



To make the hem you fold the piece and knit the two stitches together.  The video shows this process as well as provisional cast on.  Provisional Cast On

 

The photos show the front and back. 

Picot Edge

A picot edge can provide an interesting hem line, cuff or hat edge.  I frequently use them in baby projects.  It is very easy to do.  You need a multiple of two stitches.  You work to the where you want the fold line and work as follows for something in the round:  *k2tog, yo; rep from *.  If you are working flat, you need a selvedge stitches on each side so you would work as follows:  k1, *k2tog, yo; repeat from * to last st, k1.  You then fold the piece and you can pick up stitches along the cast on edge or do a provisional cast on.

 

KNITTING SALON

There is an opera on Saturday--Donizetti's Maria Stuarda.  Donizetti loved tragic queens.  The Met did his Anna Bolena last year.  I had to check the plot.  I had this image of Mary Queen of Scots head singing after she's been beheaded.  It is opera after all.  The good news is that the opera ends with her  ascending the scaffold.  Salon will be on Sunday from 2-5pm.

 

CURRENT PROJECTS

I was surprised at how quickly I could finish the dress and blouse.  I wanted clean, classic looks and I think that is what I got.  I am quite pleased. 

 

 

Not a very good picture but you get the idea.

 

For aesthetic reasons I did a very narrow band (the pick row, a knit row, and a bind off) for the neckline and armhole edges of the blouse.  It worked out very nicely.  I also sacrificed (sniff) some of my vintage bakelite buttons for the blouse.  I was tempted to ask for them back but that would be tacky.  The yarn for the blouse is Classic Elite Firefly.  It has a lovely sheen and the drape is nice as well.  Here are the front and back.
 

 

 

 What you can't really see is that the peplum is garter stitch with short rows.  I'm working on the last thing for the magazine...a pair of socks.  I was going to do them in trinity stitch since that is the pattern stitch for the Stitch Anatomy lesson.  There are so many trinity stitch garments in the issue already I changed my mind.  I was inspired by a pattern in one of the Japanese books.  I made some modifications.  I'm going to call it Baby Bee Rib.  I will post the photo next week.

 



I am thrilled to announce that I will be taking over TKGA's finishing correspondence course as of February 18th.  The delay is due to the fact that I plan to rework the materials so that they cover all of the finishing techniques covered in Level 2 of the Masters Program.  The course will still have four lessons but the material will be different.  The first lesson will cover seams--vertical seams for different stitch patterns and the horizontal seams which are mainly used for shoulders.  The second lesson will cover picking up stitches for bands and the third lesson will be closures, primarily different types of buttonholes.  In the fourth lesson, the students will put all of this together to knit and finish a sweater.  I will provide the pattern for a doll sweater but the students can knit a pattern of their own choosing, as long as it meets the criteria for finishing.

 

I wouldn't say I love finishing (I am finishing a dress right now) but I do appreciate that proper finishing really makes a garment look handmade rather than homemade.



 

STUDENT NEWS 

Students are slowly getting back to working on their courses.  I've reviewed a few lessons this week.  January is a good month to learn something new.  Send those lessons in!  Keep me busy!

 

MASTERS INSTRUCTIONS

There was a conversation this week on the TKGA forum about the instructions for the Masters Program.  People were curious how the program has changed.  TKGA doesn't post earlier versions of the instructions as this would cause confusion.  I have the set of instructions I used when I did the program (I did Level 1 in 1997) and I said I would post a portion of it if anyone was curious.  I did not want to put this out on Ravelry as someone might think the instructions were current so I am copying a small portion here. 

 

The early instructions were not very specific about what the evaluation criteria were as you can see in this sample:

 

 

I think most will agree the instructions have gotten better over time.

 

TIP OF THE WEEK

This tip has nothing to do with anything covered in one of my courses or in the Masters Program.  At  my knitting salon last week, Stephanie was working on a hat (Wurm Hat on Ravelry) and was having trouble with the pattern.  The hat calls for a folded band where you pick up stitches in the cast on edge to join the two pieces.  Part of the problem was that the yarn was so dark it was very hard to see the cast on edge.  I told her I would do a video using light colored yarn.  By the way, if you are using a new technique in a project, try it out on a swatch first.  I keep a skein of Lion Brand Fisherman Wool handy for just that purpose. 

 

There are several ways to do a folded hem.  You can do a provisional cast on, you can use double knitting or you can use the method suggested in the Wurm  where you cast on stitches, work in stockinette to the desired length, work a fold row in reverse stockinette, work the same number of rows in stockinette and then join the stitches on the needle to the cast on edge.

 

 

A caveat...when you use this method, especially for a hat, be sure to cast on very loosely.  If the cast on is tight, the hat band will not stretch.  This isn't the end of the world for a hem at the bottom of a sweater or cuff but it would be a real problem for a hat.  For that reason, you might want to consider a provisional cast on instead. 

 

Here is the WS of the work.



 

Here is the RS of the work.

 



Here is the link to the video: Double Hem.  I've used this technique quite a bit.  A picot edge is nice as well.  Next week I will do a picot edge with a provisional cast on just for a comparison.

 

By the way, as I've said before, I am willing to take request for the tips.  However, since I am taking over the finishing course, I can see lots of finishing videos in my future.  By the way, Stephanie is almost finished with the hat and it is fabulous.

 

KNITTING SALON

No opera this week but there is a basketball game on Saturday so Salon will be on Sunday from 2pm-4pm.  I have gone back to work so every other week salon will be truncated.

 

CURRENT PROJECT

I am amazed at how quickly the dress worked up and how little yarn was required.  All I have to do is pick up stitches on one armhole and weave in ends.  I did take a photo of it yesterday.  I will post the finished photo next week.  

 

 

 

I started the peplum blouse while I was waiting for the front to dry.  It is a fun knit.  The yarn is Classic Elite Firefly which has some shine to it.  I think I can have it finished by next week as well.

 

I did survive the holidays.  Sometimes I wish I had an "OFF" switch.  This photo says it all.



I don't knit holiday presents for friends who live in two so every year I make cookies for my neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc. who live locally.  This year I made 20 different types.  Overkill?  Yes.  The problem is that I have cookies that I like to make every year and every year I add to the list.  It takes a surprisingly long time to bake 20 different types of cookies.

AND I did finish up my holiday knitting and everyone got their presents BEFORE Christmas for a change (expect for the one package I addressed incorrectly).  Now I can relax.


STUDENT NEWS
I didn't receive many lessons to review during the holidays and those that I did get took forever to get to me.  Since the first of the year I've received lots of new orders.  I suspect New Years Resolutions are the reason.  My New Year Resolution is the same as last year...try to use stash yarn.

TIP OF THE WEEK
This week's tip is about measuring.  Many knitters are confused about how to measure their work.   You use different procedures for measuring your work for gauge and to measure a project in progress. 

 

 

Gauge
I have done several blog entries about how to measure gauge but I am finding once is not enough.  When you measure for gauge, the swatch should be large enough to demonstrate the stitch pattern (generally 4" x 4" is enough).  The swatch should be blocked and completely dried.  Placing the swatch on a flat surface and using a RULER (not tape measure) with 1/8" indicators, place the ruler in the space BETWEEN the selvedge and the next stitch.  In the photograph below the swatch measures 5" wide.  (By the way that isn't my hand. My nails have never looked that nice!) 




Measuring the length of the swatch to determine the row gauge is a bit more tricky.  You want to measure only rows that are full size rows.  Don't include the cast on row or the bind off row.  They aren't the same size as regular rows.  The rows in some stitch patterns are easier to see (like garter stitch).  The photo shows stockinette stitch.



LengthThe other time you have to measure your work is for length.  For example, many patterns will says something like this "Work in pat as est until piece measures..."  When you are measuring for length, DO NOT include the stitches on the needle.   Measure from the bottom of the piece (or armhole or whatever the pattern indicates) right up to the stitches on the needle.  If you include the stitches on the needle in your measurement, the measurement will be short.  For most projects and weights of yarn, this isn't that big of a deal but if you are working with a bulky yarn, it can be significant.  Think what happen to the stitches on the needle when you bind off.  When they are worked they lay at the top of the piece and don't contribute to the length of the piece.

This comes up in the Masters Program frequently as knitters are expected to measure very exactly to demonstrate they know how.  (Whether they do this in their own projects is up to them.)  When the instructions state to work in ribbing for 2", the ribbing should be very close to 2".  Of course, it will NEVER be perfect as stitches don't neatly conform to exact measurements.  A tiny bit over or under is acceptable.

This photograph shows the measurement of ribbing.



The link to the video is Measuring for Gauge and Length.  I had a videographer this week but, alas, she goes back to school next week.  It makes things much easier.  I thought I could ask my neighbor if her teenage son could help out but the thought of saying, "I was wondering if your son could help me with some videos" creeps me out! 

KNITTING SALON
Between the basketball schedule and the Met's HD schedule, it looks like salon will be on Sunday most of the time.  This Saturday I will be at the theater for 5 1/2 hours to watch Berlioz's Les Troyens.  5 1/2 hours is a bit long but since I studied Classics I feel compelled to see it as Acts 1 and 2 cover the fall of Troy and Acts 3 and 4 are about Aeneas and Dido.  Can't miss that!  Anyway, Salon will be from 2-5pm on Sunday.

CURRENT PROJECTS
I used up quite a bit of stash yarn to make the fingerless mitts.  I felt quite virtuous.  I did have to buy yarn for my daughters mitts and gloves (no photos...they whisked them away too fast).  Here is the line up. 

Kim:

 

Cynthia and Jordan:



Nora and Stephanie:




I had the pattern memorized by the second pair.  I wasn't able to use stash yarn for my nephew's gift.  Alright, I could have but the yarn was Dale Baby Ull and it would have taken forever to knit the scarf so I used Berroco's Alpaca which was absolutely wonderful.  I have enough to make me a hat or something.

Christian:


I love garter stitch.

Now I have to work on things for Cast On.  I am doing a linen dress for the Summer issue.  The Fashion Framework is on Shrugs and I thought a nice neutral dress could be useful for the photo shoot.  I was dreading the knitting thinking it would take forever.  I started the back exactly a week ago and I finished it last night.  It is soaking in a tube of water right now and I will block it as soon as I finish up this entry.


Here is a photo of my design sketch and measurements.  Here is a plug....I calculated my gauge and figured out EVERYTHING before casting on.  I didn't have to rip out a stitch.  By the way, if you look closely you can see the dental elastics I used to mark every decrease and increase.  That way, I can make sure the front matches the back!