Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Posts

Crossover

The alternative title of this post could be "I Do Not Need a Rigid Heddle Loom, Right?" If you are paying keen attention to this website, you may have noticed the STITCHES Expo at home button. I'm teaching three of my most popular classes online the weekend of 8-10 August 2021. Last week there was a special Zoom meeting preview for previous attendees of STITCHES online. It was a chance to run down the class offerings. For those of us who are teachers, it was a chance to show class samples and answer any questions potential students might have. I've done this sort of thing before for other online classes. No worry. And then Myra Wood shows up with her Crazyshot class. I have an 8-shaft and a 16-shaft loom. I do not need a rigid heddle loom. I do not. I do not. I do not. Shortly after the preview ended, I went over to Myra's website and bought her book. I love Myra's sense of design, geometry, and color. Her work is jubilant, which is why I find it charismatic.

Faded Sweater Rescue

There's a transition from new knitter to experienced knitter to advanced knitter. And there's a transition from person who knits or person who is learning to knit to knitter as an identity. And then there's old knitter. If you have a knitted sweater old enough to have faded from wear and love, you might be an old knitter. This is not a bad thing. Maybe not an old knitter so much as a wise knitter or a sage knitter? I have been knitting long enough to have reached that milestone. I have dear hand knit items that have faded. They are still good, but they look worn. What is a knitter to do? Overdye! I've taken classes to learn how to use Jacquard acid dyes. But they only work on protein fiber. They are great on wool and silk. Not so great on linen or cotton. I live in Atlanta. While I do have plenty of animal fiber in my stash, it isn't uncommon for me to knit with mixed fibers. I have a red gansey I knit back in 2004. It was my fi

Nice Finish

I'm delighted to have several in-person shows on my schedule for the latter part of 2021. One of them is Fall Fling for Kathy's Kreations . I'll be teaching reversible cables and knitting faster. Since it is a weekend-long retreat, there is extra time. I'm developing a module on hat design. I started out with Casquecade (see brown hat, above). This is an easy ribbles hat. This was also my attempt to create a simple but interesting pattern that might sell on Ravelry. Fail! I thought the most popular patterns on Ravelry tended to be easy and quick? I thought they tended to be more conservative in style? I thought this hat would be appealing, especially since it is top-down. Wrong! I admit I do not understand what other people want to knit. The pattern was not a waste of time. The overall approach is a useful template. Cast on with a center-out reversible cast-on at top of hat. Increase using Y-increase or W-increase until hat fits

It Can Be Done

There's nothing like a deadline to create motivation. I'm teaching virtually at Fiberworld this weekend. My class numbers, alas, aren't great. Perhaps many of us are tired of being online? I hope we will continue to have a mix of in-person and virtual events. I like in-person events, but it is also nice to take a class without the hassle and expense of travel. For some people — especially if you are a caregiver or live in a rural area — virtual gatherings are the only option. The three classes I'm teaching this weekend are " Easy Reversible Cables ," " Essentials of Versa Lace ," and " Illusions in Shadows ." The shadow knitting class is the most recent addition to my repertoire. As is my habit, I debuted it at South Carolina Knit Inn 2020. As is also my habit, I try to have a well-researched class. When I design a handout, it is meant to be ongoing reference. Sometimes I keep my own handouts in my knitting bag

Misappropriation

Humans are excellent at using tools in creative ways, often in ways beyond the original design. Today I was shopping at Publix. I was in the tool section and discovered this little round box: As you can see from the label, this is a bamboo salt box. It is meant for storing salt. The lid swings open. There is a magnet to hold the lid closed. Of course, I immediately saw it could serve another purpose — stitch marker storage! This would be a lovely way to store other small notions. Or it might be handy as a place to put little things that will get lost if left sitting on the table.

Fixing 2-Color Brioche

One of my most popular classes is Brioche Rosetta Stone . As far as I know, I'm one of the few instructors who shows how to work brioche stitches using the yarn over & slip method as well as the knitting into the stitch below method. I was chatting with other instructors at a STITCHES event . One said she doesn't teach brioche because she can't fix it. For the most part, I can't fix it, either. In class, I tell students to knit a few rows and then pick back up and carry on. Mistakes are common when learning brioche. If you spend all your time trying to fix them, you won't learn the maneuvers. Fixing brioche is one of the most difficult things you can do in knitting. I would rather fix double-knitting than fix brioche. But a number of students have requested video showing how to do it. I had a swatch of brioche on my needles after a virtual presentation for South Carolina Knitting Guild . It seemed like a good time to shoot some video.