Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Damask knit with a notch about 15 inches/38 cm deep. In the previous post, I said I didn't want to knit a solid triangle, but rather a triangle with a notch in it. Why would I want to do that? A triangular shawl may not necessarily sit nicely on your shoulders. I wear my shawls. I do household chores while wearing my shawls. They need to stay put. A regular triangular shawl does not have a place for your neck, so you end up with a chunk of fabric that bunches up at the back of your neck. And you end up with much more fabric across your back than across your front, which means the force of gravity tugging at the back is always more than the force of gravity tugging at the front. There are a couple ways to deal with this. Faroese shawls incorporate shaping, so they have a gentle "wing" shape that reminds me of a butterfly or a manta ray. The shaping helps get more fabric to the front so that gravity pulls evenly on both sides. Ruanas also work this way by havi...

I don't knit a lot of other people's patterns. I do admire a lot of other people's patterns. And I do read a lot of other people's patterns. But every now and then there is a pattern that just has to be done. When I was in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 2011, the owner of Urban Fiber Arts was wearing a recently-completed Damask by Kitman Figueroa. This is such a beautiful lace pattern that I just had to work it. When a friend was de-stashing, I was able to acquire a large (215g) skein of Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester 2/8. The skein was marked as 250g, but I must say, it wasn't that on my scale. Not sure if my scale is wrong or if Fleece Artist's scale was wrong, or maybe the yarn had acquired some moisture at some point? Nonetheless, either 215g or 250g is plenty of yarn for a shawl. Plenty. I like my shawls large. I get cold. I don't like cold. (I don't like dark, either, just for the record.) So I decided to make a large Damask. The patt...

You may have noticed the button for "Unwind," which replaced the "SAFF" button here on my blog last autumn. I am very excited to have been chosen as an instructor for Unwind 2013! This is a knitting retreat weekend in North Carolina from Friday 26 April through Monday 29 April. The other instructors are Michelle Hunter, Charles Gandy, and Debra Lee. I'll be teaching Unventions, Brioche Rosetta Stone, and Daring Double Cables as well as giving a short presentation about The Center for Knit and Crochet. The retreat is put together by Nancy Shroyer of Nancy's Knit Knacks fame. This is a low-key weekend with some classes but also some plain sitting around and knitting. It is a smaller and more intimate retreat where you are likely to meet most of the attendees by the end of the weekend. For $450 you get: Three nights stay - double occupancy (come with a friend or match up with a new fiber buddy) Three breakfasts Two dinners Three classes Four co...