Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

On Saturday I took a SEFAA-sponsored all-day spinning workshop with legend Norman Kennedy. If I remember correctly, Mr. Kennedy immigrated in the 1960s from Scotland. He learned many of the old ways of spinning, weaving, and knitting in his native Scotland. Over the course of his long life, he has traveled all over the world and learned first hand the fiber traditions of many different cultures. He speaks Gaelic, and sings the ancient songs beautifully. Talking to him -- and he is more than willing to tell tales through his beautiful accent -- is like talking to someone from 1880. There are two important things I learned in his class. One is how to make a dang right good rolag, and the other is how to spin in the old way -- effectively (quality) and efficiently (fast). I've mentioned before that I've been getting better at drafting backwards. In fact, I'm discovering that I really don't care for a forward worsted draft. It just isn't as pleasant to me. This isn...

I've been trying to make of habit of shooting videos of some of the more unusual techniques I've used in my designs. Since Dahlia is now available, I wanted to be sure knitters aren't getting stuck. For this video, I'm showing you how to trap threads as you pick up for the next course. This will prevent you from having to break your yarn between modules, and will save you a lot of weaving in of ends. Not only might you appreciate the time savings, but you'll also save on aggravation and have a nicer finish, because hiding ends in lace requires more care. Two caveats in the video. 1. Near the beginning of the video, I said "double increase" when I meant "double decrease." If you have the pattern, you'll know what I meant. 2. I shot this video while working on the original shawl. The updated and improved version for The Unique Sheep has a different stitch count from the shawl in the video. So when I talk in the video about 1-15-1 as th...

Some of you may remember a post from last summer , in which I showed off a shawl I knit for the Claudia Handpaint Contest. The shawl didn't win anything, but Claudia was kind enough to return it in time for the TKGA show in Greensboro, NC. So I wore the shawl there. Laura and Kelly from The Unique Sheep saw the shawl and liked it. So it is now getting a second life! They've been a huge help in formatting and tech editing the pattern. And I am very grateful they had Heike Nocher to test knit the design, which she accomplished admirably and during the holiday season. The pattern is now available from The Unique Sheep. Thank you hardly begins to cover my appreciation at seeing one of my patterns out in the world. I know I will barely be able to contain my glee when I see it worn at one of the conventions. I knew Laura and Kelly were totally awesome people back when I was president of Atlanta Knitting Guild. So many people helped over the course of the year -- it was the fi...

During 2011 I was VP of Programs for North Georgia Knitting Guild. The position involved coming up with the monthly program. I got some ideas from the guild members, but I also got some ideas from myself. One of those ideas was a needle tasting. There are lots and lots of different types of knitting needles available. Some of them, such as Clover, Susan Bates, or Knit Picks, are budget-friendly. Sometimes they are knitter-friendly, too, but other times not so much. There are also needles that are marketed as knitter-friendly but are not budget-friendly. And nowadays there are choices amongst straight, circular, double-pointed, and interchangeable as well as choices amongst round, square, or hexagonal shafts, and choices regarding material such as bamboo, nickle-plated, surgical stainless steel, brass, carbon fiber, plastic, glass, or various types of wood. How is a knitter ever supposed to choose? For our October guild meeting, I wrote to several needle manufacturers and requested ...

Crocus blooming on 2 February 2012. Or for those of you following the Wiccan calendar, Blessed Imbolc! We're approaching my favorite point in the year, which is the 1st of March. My least favorite point is probably 1 November, the day after Samhain. I don't like cold and I don't like dark, so I really don't like November, which is all about getting colder and darker. I'm not so fond of December, either, but at least there are Yuletide distractions. It already feels as if we are at the beginning of March rather than the beginning of February. Today there are crocus blooming by my mailbox! Glee! I am a very poor gardener. I'm good with animals, but really not good with plants. Back in the autumn I bought some crocus bulbs for about $5 and spent an hour planting them. I figured that if nothing happened, it wasn't a big loss in either time or money. But it looks like something is happening. I'm still behind here on the blog (and in my life -- ...

Yes, the knit, Swirl jacket does indeed have only one seam. But let's be very clear about this. This is not an easy seam. The sleeve portions aren't too bad, as the stitches are basically matched one to one. But the yoke seam, at least in the "Plum Perfect" pattern, required a lot of easing to make it all match. While a great deal of the knitting on this sweater is suitable for an advanced beginner, the seam is definitely not beginner knitting. I've also found that a lot of people have trouble figuring out how to put the Swirl together. The video will show you how to fold your Swirl so that you know where to seam.

First off, I must apologize for being away from the blog for so long. I actually wrote some drafts that I thought I might post during the holidays, but that so didn't happen. It was great to see family and delightful to travel to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl (even if Stanford did lose on a failed field goal). Already 2012 is off to an amazing start. I'll be posting more later about where and when I'll be teaching. There will definitely be more teaching at conventions and festivals this year. Hurray! But ya'all are here to see the knitting, yes? Here it is: This is the "Plum Perfect" pattern from knit, Swirl by Sandra McIver . I'll have a full review of the book later, as I have much to say about it. The yarn is one skein of Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool, which is a 1450 yard put-up and a one-pound skein. The colorway is Red Willow. It looks great against the red rocks outside Oak Creek, Arizona! I'll be teaching this construction method a...