Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Teaching is often about human factors. How do you make something unintelligible instead understandable? Knitting patterns have this same challenge. How do you tell someone else what you did in enough detail to be replicated, but not so much detail as to overwhelm? One of the techniques I teach occasionally is two-pattern double-knitting. This technique allows you to have two different patterns on each side of your fabric, instead of a reversed negative. The most common use of this technique is to put lettering into a project. The challenge is the charts. A regular double-knitting chart looks like this: And produces this: The chart that makes the letters read correctly looks like this: And produces this: Right away, you can see the chart for this technique makes your eyes cross. You must follow the chart carefully, mindfully, to produce the desired result. I recently stumbled upon a better method for these charts. A friend had been working on this ...

Late last year my sister discovered Outlander . It is one of those book series/television series that "has legs" as they say. The first book was published in 1991, 35 years ago. It seems people continue to discover it, read it, watch it, and become enthrauled by Diana Gabaldon's talented storytelling. As for knitting, there is an Outlander Knitting official book . I do not own it. There are many, many things I want to knit. That particular book didn't have anything that caught my fancy. I haven't watched the television show, although I read the first three books more than a decade ago. In the television series there is a cowl made from large yarn in garter stitch. My sister sent me a picture and said she would like it. This was an easy knit for me; and something I was delighted to do. Sadly, my friendly local yarn shop did not have any super-bulky yarn in the color and size I sought. I ended up purchasing two skeins of Yarn Bee Effortles...

We are already more than a week into 2026. How did that happen? While I have the calendar out and am planning ahead, here are some opportunities I feel are worth elevating: The Livestock Conservancy has a "Save Our Sheep Sweater Challenge" class on Teachable. Deborah Robson is the teacher. The class is already recorded. This is similar to learning from DVDs before streaming became a thing. The class is only $20. If you have participated in Shave 'Em to Save 'Em or would like to, this inexpensive self-paced course should be helpful. With a teacher as talented as Deb Robson, I'm sure there will be multiple "ah-ha" moments. My dear friend Varian Brandon will be teaching several classes on stranded colorwork at Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance on the weekend of 6-8 February 2026. On Friday Varian is teaching beginning stranded colorwork ( knights' banner cowl , shown above with my alterations) and steeking. Saturday is a...

As we come up on the return of the light in a few days, this is a traditional time of the year to pause and reflect. We reap what we sow, so make sure you plant something you want to harvest. This year I am feeling especially blessed for a variety of reasons. Cuddly Hubby is here at home. We have two happy, healthy cats who provide slack. A nice teaching schedule is coming together for me for 2026 (see right sidebar). The holiday season has featured time with some of my dearest friends, many of whom are at contented points in their lives. After watching so many people I care about work through a variety of struggles, I am without words to describe how lovely it is to watch them enjoy the fruits of their labors. For myself, I finished the baby hue shift blanket. It may not be perfect, but it is undeniably beautiful. I've started a new log cabin blanket. The yarn is Premier Puzzle from a big-box store, but I think Marble Chunky would work, too. I'm usin...

Atlanta Knitting Guild is celebrating its 40th anniversary by making 40 blankets for Project Linus. I don't do a lot of charity knitting or gift knitting. Usually I am knitting something complicated for myself; or I am knitting something I need for a class sample. And knitting a blanket is a big ask in terms of time. On the other hand, it is possible to choose a relatively mindless knit that I can work up over several weeks in the evenings or at meetings when a more complicated project requires too much attention. In this case, I cast on before an October road trip to Virginia. Cuddly Hubby did the driving, which gave me lots of knitting time in the passenger seat. This object isn't quite finished — I'm still working on the border. It is one of the most beautiful objects I have ever knit. The pattern is based on Hue Shift . The construction is the basic modular block I teach in my modular knitting class. Hue Shift works the block in garter s...

Many of my knitting unventions come from solving a problem. I tend to work backward in my design process. I start with a vision — oh, wouldn't it be nifty if I made thing X? — and then try to figure out how to do it. I like excellent construction. I believe in the value of fine craftsmanship. That brings me to the problem of Volute . cover photo of Volute As you can see, this is a mohair cocoon. There's nothing wrong with making a mohair cocoon. The part I don't like, and that my student who is making it doesn't like, are the seams across the back. back view from the pattern booklet The seams look like scars. The fabric is diaphanous. This is also a mohair stockinette death march — a full 2 yards of knitting. Yes, it is 6 feet of knitting, or 2 meters if you want to think in metric. I borrowed this project from my student and worked on it at Dragon Con because I'm a fast knitter. But if you are not a fast knitter, this is a slog . On t...