I'm still working on spinning the Corriedale colors and am debating ordering more from Halcyon. I guess I should figure out what I'm going to knit with this yarn first.
I finally scanned the knitted lizard I made last year. You can't see how the mouth opens though. I thought it would be the ideal cat toy because they go nuts when lizards crawl on the windown screens but they have completely ignored it. I enjoyed designing it while knitting though.
I finally scanned the knitted lizard I made last year. You can't see how the mouth opens though. I thought it would be the ideal cat toy because they go nuts when lizards crawl on the windown screens but they have completely ignored it. I enjoyed designing it while knitting though.
The Cunningsburgh Star gloves from Carol Rasmussen Noble's book are history. I just can't figure it out but I could not get the fingers to be wide enough despite several attempts at going up two needle sizes. I guess I need to invest in some glove needles. Then I tried to make them into mittens but didn't like the way that looked. Then I thought I'd try solid color fingers but that wouldn't have looked so great. I also tried a seed stitch and a ribbed edge to make them into fingerless mittens but the edge flared and that looked dumb.
Right now I'm not knitting anything. I still have the rainbow spinning project which is going well though.
Yesterday we went to Santa Fe for Russian Summer. This event centers around an extraordinary exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts - Nicholas and Alexandra: At Home with the Last Tsar and His Family.
It was pretty crowded but I managed to see everything. I was really moved at the film montage of some of the Tsar's home movies. They had a good selection of furniture, letters, art, fine china, photo albums, and children's toys. The most valuable item was a Faberge basket of lilies of the valley made out of jewels. I saw a fuzzy black wool burka Nicholas wore and lots of beautiful lace bedding. There was a huge tapestry of Marie Antoinette with her children that was given to Alexandra by the French government.
Apparently their five children were all pretty talented at arts and crafts and they had a really interesting leather stamping kit used by the Grand Duchesses. Their work was quite detailed. Marie also was a talented painter and they had some of her watercolors. The Crown Prince Alexis enjoyed woodworking and the exhibit included a clock he made. They displayed all his little child's tools - saws and picks and all sorts of sharp things I would have second thoughts about giving to a hemophiliac child.
I really was fascinated by a crochet hook used by Alexandra. It was solid gold with a black bearded man's head carving attached to the top. It was pretty large and I'd guess it would be for worsted weight yarn or thicker. The note stated that Alexandra and her four daughters all knit socks for the Russian soldiers in World War I.
I was hoping to see something related to Rasputin but the there was only a brief shot of him, eyes closed, in the film. They also had an anxious letter written by the Tsar to his mother just before the entire family was executed by the Bolsheviks.
The exhibit is definitely worth checking out but the museum could have done a better job of lighting the items. They're getting 500-800 visitors a day and people just mill about in the various rooms going all different directions trying to have a chance to see each item instead of a more organized traffic flow. The exhibit is only going to two other locations - Newark and Cincinnati.
I'm going to post this on Norgeknit next week but I thought I'd try here first.
Is anyone interested in buying my size XL kit for the Dale of Norway Kashmir sweater done in Tiur (60% mohair, 40% wool) in the main colorway shown here? I started knitting the sleeve (I think in a size L - I bought the XL to have extra yarn) and I can include the sleeve as is or I can wind it back on the skeins.
Allegro Yarns sells the kit for $127.95 and Bea Ellis sells the pattern for $4.50 and Tiur for $6.10 a skein. The colors here are coming out a bit brighter than they are in real life.
I'd like $85 for it which includes 9 untouched skeins of the dark purple (plus 1 skein being used for the sleeve), 4 untouched skeins red (plus 1 skein used for the sleeve), 1 avocado (a couple of yards were used from it for the lace bottom of the sleeve), and 2 orange (and 1 skein used for the sleeve) along with the pattern. So including the skeins used for the sleeves that is a total of 19 skeins of Tiur. Yardage for Tiur is 126 yards per skein and it has a nice sheen to it. The price includes postage in the U.S.
Email me at nanetteblanchard AT earthlink DOT net. Thanks - I think it is a lovely sweater and a lovely yarn but I'm just not into mohair.
Is anyone interested in buying my size XL kit for the Dale of Norway Kashmir sweater done in Tiur (60% mohair, 40% wool) in the main colorway shown here? I started knitting the sleeve (I think in a size L - I bought the XL to have extra yarn) and I can include the sleeve as is or I can wind it back on the skeins.
Allegro Yarns sells the kit for $127.95 and Bea Ellis sells the pattern for $4.50 and Tiur for $6.10 a skein. The colors here are coming out a bit brighter than they are in real life.
I'd like $85 for it which includes 9 untouched skeins of the dark purple (plus 1 skein being used for the sleeve), 4 untouched skeins red (plus 1 skein used for the sleeve), 1 avocado (a couple of yards were used from it for the lace bottom of the sleeve), and 2 orange (and 1 skein used for the sleeve) along with the pattern. So including the skeins used for the sleeves that is a total of 19 skeins of Tiur. Yardage for Tiur is 126 yards per skein and it has a nice sheen to it. The price includes postage in the U.S.
Email me at nanetteblanchard AT earthlink DOT net. Thanks - I think it is a lovely sweater and a lovely yarn but I'm just not into mohair.
After waiting for what seems like forever, the first copies of Stranded Color Knitting are finding their way to everyone. It seems to take about two weeks for Cafepress to deliver the booklets. Chery has kindly reviewed the booklet on her blog today.
I'm very much a product person. I love keeping track of my knitting progress for the year and looking at a pile of stuff I've knit. I love the feel of finishing things. I know this blog helps me finish more items. And now I've brought in a greater power - the Productive Spinners list.
Last spring I was a member and it was the only way I managed to finish both the Dale
of Norway Sirdal cardigan and Alice Starmore's St.Enda. Here are my
current long-term and short-term goals. I like to have one sweater goal, one
spinning goal, and one goal I can finish quickly in case I totally blow it on the other two goals.
GOAL 1. Knit Malin sweater from Alice Starmore's In the Hebrides in Cascade 220 - As of 6/21/04 I have both sleeves and about 3 inches of the body (I'm knitting front and back simultaneously) done. I've been working on it a year and I'd like to wear the sweater this fall.
Next 2 Week Goal - to rip back one sleeve a few inches and fix a cable mistake (see itat end of needle in photo) and knit back up to through the saddle shoulder
GOAL 2. Spin 19 colors of Ashford Corriedale roving, 1 oz each.
Have already spun and plied 1 1/2 oz. I just started spinning it this month but I've had the fiber for several years. I'd like to finish this by fall.
Next 2 Week Goal: Finish spinning and plying another 1 1/2 oz.
GOAL 3. The Cunningsburgh Star gloves from Carol Rasmussen Noble's Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves in some old Nylamb stash yarn.
I started these this week. I'd like to finish these in 2 weeks.
Next 2 Week Goal: Finish both gloves.
Marilyn wrote in the comments several days ago that she is a new knitter who likes knitting scarves and was wondering how to make the lengthwise garter stitch scarf shown in the photo a few days back. I have already given away the scarf unfortunately but I can provide some details. I believe I cast on 100 stitches on a size 7 circular needle to make a shorter scarf, about 40 inches long. (You need a long circular needle because you're working on a long item. You knit back and forth on it, not in the round.) The yarns I was using were handspun and Easter-egg dyed and varied between sport and worsted weight. There were three different yarns used in the scarf, although it looks like four in the photo.
For this scarf, I cut the yarns at the end of each row. This makes fringe while you knit but all those yarn pieces flapping around while you are knitting can definitely be distracting. So instead you can forget this part. I'd say I did about 4 rows of the edge color, 6 of the turquoise (it was a thinner yarn), 8 of the center colors, 6 more turquoise and 4 more edge rows. Make sure your color stripe rows are divisible by two so you'll always be starting a new color on the right side of the scarf. Always cast on and bind off loosely in a lengthwise scarf. Then add fringe as you like.
Now that I've probably thoroughly confused you, HERE is a roughly similar pattern using novelty yarns and larger needles. Just play around with some different yarns. I don't think you can go wrong. Good luck with your scarf Marilyn!
I'm very much a product person. I love keeping track of my knitting progress for the year and looking at a pile of stuff I've knit. I love the feel of finishing things. I know this blog helps me finish more items. And now I've brought in a greater power - the Productive Spinners list.
Last spring I was a member and it was the only way I managed to finish both the Dale
of Norway Sirdal cardigan and Alice Starmore's St.Enda. Here are my
current long-term and short-term goals. I like to have one sweater goal, one
spinning goal, and one goal I can finish quickly in case I totally blow it on the other two goals.
GOAL 1. Knit Malin sweater from Alice Starmore's In the Hebrides in Cascade 220 - As of 6/21/04 I have both sleeves and about 3 inches of the body (I'm knitting front and back simultaneously) done. I've been working on it a year and I'd like to wear the sweater this fall.
Next 2 Week Goal - to rip back one sleeve a few inches and fix a cable mistake (see itat end of needle in photo) and knit back up to through the saddle shoulder
GOAL 2. Spin 19 colors of Ashford Corriedale roving, 1 oz each.
Have already spun and plied 1 1/2 oz. I just started spinning it this month but I've had the fiber for several years. I'd like to finish this by fall.
Next 2 Week Goal: Finish spinning and plying another 1 1/2 oz.
GOAL 3. The Cunningsburgh Star gloves from Carol Rasmussen Noble's Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves in some old Nylamb stash yarn.
I started these this week. I'd like to finish these in 2 weeks.
Next 2 Week Goal: Finish both gloves.
Marilyn wrote in the comments several days ago that she is a new knitter who likes knitting scarves and was wondering how to make the lengthwise garter stitch scarf shown in the photo a few days back. I have already given away the scarf unfortunately but I can provide some details. I believe I cast on 100 stitches on a size 7 circular needle to make a shorter scarf, about 40 inches long. (You need a long circular needle because you're working on a long item. You knit back and forth on it, not in the round.) The yarns I was using were handspun and Easter-egg dyed and varied between sport and worsted weight. There were three different yarns used in the scarf, although it looks like four in the photo.
For this scarf, I cut the yarns at the end of each row. This makes fringe while you knit but all those yarn pieces flapping around while you are knitting can definitely be distracting. So instead you can forget this part. I'd say I did about 4 rows of the edge color, 6 of the turquoise (it was a thinner yarn), 8 of the center colors, 6 more turquoise and 4 more edge rows. Make sure your color stripe rows are divisible by two so you'll always be starting a new color on the right side of the scarf. Always cast on and bind off loosely in a lengthwise scarf. Then add fringe as you like.
Now that I've probably thoroughly confused you, HERE is a roughly similar pattern using novelty yarns and larger needles. Just play around with some different yarns. I don't think you can go wrong. Good luck with your scarf Marilyn!
I've been having a wonderful email correspondence with Emily Margaret
Stuparyk, author of When Only the Love Remains: The Pain of Pet Loss. She is currently at work on a book called Celebrating Rabbits.
Emily purchased a Peaches tote bag from our Four Corners Bunnies
Cafepress store to haul stuff to her vet's office with her very ill rabbit.
Miraculously her rabbit got better and Emily thinks that the Peaches bag was
good luck.
I'm currently in talks with Peaches about bringing her to the casino. Speaking of rabbits and money, check out the news story of Bobby the bunny in Scotland.
I'm thrilled to hear that Lisa is thinking about knitting more gloves. I just started the Cunningsburgh Star Gloves from Carol Rasmussen Noble's Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves. I blame Lisa for most of my glove madness.
Stuparyk, author of When Only the Love Remains: The Pain of Pet Loss. She is currently at work on a book called Celebrating Rabbits.
Emily purchased a Peaches tote bag from our Four Corners Bunnies
Cafepress store to haul stuff to her vet's office with her very ill rabbit.
Miraculously her rabbit got better and Emily thinks that the Peaches bag was
good luck.
I'm currently in talks with Peaches about bringing her to the casino. Speaking of rabbits and money, check out the news story of Bobby the bunny in Scotland.
I'm thrilled to hear that Lisa is thinking about knitting more gloves. I just started the Cunningsburgh Star Gloves from Carol Rasmussen Noble's Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves. I blame Lisa for most of my glove madness.
This is a sampler pack of Ashford Corriedale roving in 19 different colors purchased at Halcyon. I'm spinning it with my favorite Tracy Eicheim fancy rabbit overlay spindle and am thinking of knitting some rainbow striped items. There is a pattern in Socks, Socks,Socks that uses black stripes in between each color that I'll use for inspiration.
Here is my spinning progress so far.
I've rejoined the wonderful Productive Spinners list and have to come up with 3 fiber goals/projects to work on tonight. Ahh - to finally be productive.
Here is my spinning progress so far.
I've rejoined the wonderful Productive Spinners list and have to come up with 3 fiber goals/projects to work on tonight. Ahh - to finally be productive.
Here are the Tartan fingerless gloves from Carol Rasmussen Noble's fair isle glove book. DH hates the colors I chose but the only thing I'd change is to use a golden yellow instead of the pale yellow I chose for the center. I went up two needle sizes to get gauge and used a variety of Shetland wool.
Today we have two projects I decided to abandon.
First are the Friday Harbor socks from Knitting on the Road done in Cervinia Calzetteria (sounds like a pasta dish, doesn't it?). I could barely see the lace pattern with the yarn being so busy although it is easier to see in the photo. I may try this project again with some teal Wildfoote from the stash.
Next we have the Blackberry mittens from Blackberry Ridge. These were coming out big which didn't bother me but I didn't really like the shape of these. I adore the yarn though so I will find another use for it.
Have a terrific weekend! Sunday afternoon I'll be back with a new pair of Fair Isle fingerless gloves from the Carol Rasmussen Noble book.
First are the Friday Harbor socks from Knitting on the Road done in Cervinia Calzetteria (sounds like a pasta dish, doesn't it?). I could barely see the lace pattern with the yarn being so busy although it is easier to see in the photo. I may try this project again with some teal Wildfoote from the stash.
Next we have the Blackberry mittens from Blackberry Ridge. These were coming out big which didn't bother me but I didn't really like the shape of these. I adore the yarn though so I will find another use for it.
Have a terrific weekend! Sunday afternoon I'll be back with a new pair of Fair Isle fingerless gloves from the Carol Rasmussen Noble book.
Interweave Press is having their annual hurt book sale and I went and put three books in my cart then realized that a)I'd promised not to buy any more knitting books and b)I have too many knitting books! I apparently need to come to these conclusions on a daily basis.
As promised here are some more things I knit to be sold in the Denver rabbit shelter. First we have a lengthwise striped garter stitch scarf in some Easter egg dyed yarn. This one I actually wanted to keep for myself for some reason.
And another boring spontaneous scarf. As you can see I'm finally running out of these hand-dyed yarns so the color combos are becoming more creative.
This is another Bunnies & Carrots hat (pattern from Naked Sheep, used for HRS knitting with kind permission of the author). I made this in the largest size and chose colors that were pretty masculine to make this a man's hat. Then I added the bunny tails and the carrots on top and this hat is not exactly reeking with machismo, is it?
As promised here are some more things I knit to be sold in the Denver rabbit shelter. First we have a lengthwise striped garter stitch scarf in some Easter egg dyed yarn. This one I actually wanted to keep for myself for some reason.
And another boring spontaneous scarf. As you can see I'm finally running out of these hand-dyed yarns so the color combos are becoming more creative.
This is another Bunnies & Carrots hat (pattern from Naked Sheep, used for HRS knitting with kind permission of the author). I made this in the largest size and chose colors that were pretty masculine to make this a man's hat. Then I added the bunny tails and the carrots on top and this hat is not exactly reeking with machismo, is it?
For someone who keeps yammering about getting rid of stuff and not buying more, I manage to acquire new lovely things anyway.
Are these not the cutest stitch markers? They are from Joanne Conklin's blog contest. I won third place for ugliest knitting design (the man's swimsuit) and won these beautiful stitch markers handcrafted by Diana Edstrom. You can buy them on Joanne's web site HERE. My favorites are the ladybug and the sputnik one but they are all really quite wonderful. Thank you Joanne for your terrific contest and your terrific blog.
The new stitch markers will have a place of honor next to the wonderful rabbit stitch markers the talented Stasia made for me after Flip the world's best rabbit died a year ago today. I was really grateful for Stasia's thoughtfulness and generosity.
I received a used book I'd ordered about a million years ago, Spin It by Lee Raven.
I wasn't sure I needed this book as I have Lee's other spinning book but this one only
focuses on drop spindling and I love it. There is an adorable pattern for a knitted bunny bag out of handspun angora fur seen here.
Tomorrow I'll show you 3 additional projects I sent to the rabbit shelter to sell and the day after that I'll show you a few projects that were abandoned and explain why. I hope you can stand the suspense.
Are these not the cutest stitch markers? They are from Joanne Conklin's blog contest. I won third place for ugliest knitting design (the man's swimsuit) and won these beautiful stitch markers handcrafted by Diana Edstrom. You can buy them on Joanne's web site HERE. My favorites are the ladybug and the sputnik one but they are all really quite wonderful. Thank you Joanne for your terrific contest and your terrific blog.
The new stitch markers will have a place of honor next to the wonderful rabbit stitch markers the talented Stasia made for me after Flip the world's best rabbit died a year ago today. I was really grateful for Stasia's thoughtfulness and generosity.
I received a used book I'd ordered about a million years ago, Spin It by Lee Raven.
I wasn't sure I needed this book as I have Lee's other spinning book but this one only
focuses on drop spindling and I love it. There is an adorable pattern for a knitted bunny bag out of handspun angora fur seen here.
Tomorrow I'll show you 3 additional projects I sent to the rabbit shelter to sell and the day after that I'll show you a few projects that were abandoned and explain why. I hope you can stand the suspense.
BOOKLET SALES
So far the Stranded Color Knitting booklet has made $104 for rabbit rescue! That is roughly equivalent to 325 pounds of Purina Rabbit Chow. Thank you, thank you, thank you all! I cannot begin to express how extremely grateful I am to everyone who has purchased the booklet.
Martha at Deer Run Sheep Farm is going to mention Stranded Color Knitting in her next newsletter which is terrific. She just started a Cafepress shop to benefit the Coopworth Sheep Registry with some cute sheep logos HERE and HERE.
I am getting together all the finished projects that have been gathering dust and am going to fill three boxes - one for my best friend and her daughter back east, one for Afghans for Afghans and one for the Colorado House Rabbit Society gift shop. I have a total of 17 projects to send off. I love the feeling of getting rid of things and emptying out drawers and shelves.
So far the Stranded Color Knitting booklet has made $104 for rabbit rescue! That is roughly equivalent to 325 pounds of Purina Rabbit Chow. Thank you, thank you, thank you all! I cannot begin to express how extremely grateful I am to everyone who has purchased the booklet.
Martha at Deer Run Sheep Farm is going to mention Stranded Color Knitting in her next newsletter which is terrific. She just started a Cafepress shop to benefit the Coopworth Sheep Registry with some cute sheep logos HERE and HERE.
I am getting together all the finished projects that have been gathering dust and am going to fill three boxes - one for my best friend and her daughter back east, one for Afghans for Afghans and one for the Colorado House Rabbit Society gift shop. I have a total of 17 projects to send off. I love the feeling of getting rid of things and emptying out drawers and shelves.
I've been having some sleep problems so please bear with me this week. If I don't get some sleep soon I expect to stop making sense altogether.
DUPLICATE STITCH
I use duplicate stitch more and more often when I know that stranded color knitting will cause problems for a particular pattern. Usually this means that the floats are too long and I can't leave them be because the item I'm knitting is for a child. Duplicate stitch is also helpful in intarsia projects for diagonal lines (example - the diagonal lines in an argyle pattern). Duplicate stitch is not elastic and often feels like a patch on your knitting so keep that in mind if you're planning on using a lot of it on a project that needs to stretch. Some knitters use duplicate stitch on worn areas of sock toes and heels.
When I duplicate stitch, I always go from right to left. I look at my chart and start
at the right side of the first row of the chart and stitch away. When I get to the next row (at the left hand side of the first row), I turn the work around and go from right to left upside down on the next row. Then right-side up on the next row and so on, always stitching from right to left. If you change direction while doing duplicate stitch, you may end up with twisted stitches.
I always do my duplicate stitch from bottom to top. The Stuever intarsia book states there is only one instance in which you'd go from top to bottom - when you have a single vertical line of duplicate stitch that is not near any other duplicate stitched areas.
I generally use a yarn piece about 18" long. I've noticed that if I use a longer piece, it ends up getting caught somehow during the stitching. My tendency is to stitch too loose as doing it too tightly will cause the back color to show through. I take care to try not to split any stitches while doing it as well. Also, when working in the duplicate stitch ends, I make sure not to do too much pulling of the backs of the duplicate stitches which can distort the stitches.
In duplicate stitch the stitches you make (if you're using the same weight yarn as the original knitting) will be larger than the stitches on the original knitted fabric. Fortunately the larger stitches cover up the stitches behind it better.
If I make a mistake in duplicate stitch (I made one in the above elephant pattern from Debbie Bliss' Kids Knits for Head, Hands, and Toes) I correct it by simply duplicate stitching over it. This is generally more pleasant than ripping out duplicate stitch.
DUPLICATE STITCH
I use duplicate stitch more and more often when I know that stranded color knitting will cause problems for a particular pattern. Usually this means that the floats are too long and I can't leave them be because the item I'm knitting is for a child. Duplicate stitch is also helpful in intarsia projects for diagonal lines (example - the diagonal lines in an argyle pattern). Duplicate stitch is not elastic and often feels like a patch on your knitting so keep that in mind if you're planning on using a lot of it on a project that needs to stretch. Some knitters use duplicate stitch on worn areas of sock toes and heels.
When I duplicate stitch, I always go from right to left. I look at my chart and start
at the right side of the first row of the chart and stitch away. When I get to the next row (at the left hand side of the first row), I turn the work around and go from right to left upside down on the next row. Then right-side up on the next row and so on, always stitching from right to left. If you change direction while doing duplicate stitch, you may end up with twisted stitches.
I always do my duplicate stitch from bottom to top. The Stuever intarsia book states there is only one instance in which you'd go from top to bottom - when you have a single vertical line of duplicate stitch that is not near any other duplicate stitched areas.
I generally use a yarn piece about 18" long. I've noticed that if I use a longer piece, it ends up getting caught somehow during the stitching. My tendency is to stitch too loose as doing it too tightly will cause the back color to show through. I take care to try not to split any stitches while doing it as well. Also, when working in the duplicate stitch ends, I make sure not to do too much pulling of the backs of the duplicate stitches which can distort the stitches.
In duplicate stitch the stitches you make (if you're using the same weight yarn as the original knitting) will be larger than the stitches on the original knitted fabric. Fortunately the larger stitches cover up the stitches behind it better.
If I make a mistake in duplicate stitch (I made one in the above elephant pattern from Debbie Bliss' Kids Knits for Head, Hands, and Toes) I correct it by simply duplicate stitching over it. This is generally more pleasant than ripping out duplicate stitch.
SOB STORY
I know I don't normally post on Friday but I just had to share my misery. I posted about getting a few knitting books together to sell at the used bookstore. DH took in about 10-15 and made $35. One of those books was "Color in Spinning" by Deb Menz. I found out today that it is out of print and currently selling on Bookfinder for $150-$190. sigh All this work I'm doing to write and advertise a booklet to make money for our rabbit rescue and I could have just sold one book I didn't want anyway. sigh Oh well I like the used bookstore so I can think of it as my way of helping them out as well.
The good news is that I'm working on some fun Debbie Bliss baby items and next week I should have some photos and info on intarsia, duplicate stitch and possibly the Philosopher's Wool method of weaving in every other stitch. I'm going to try this method in a particular situation where the floats will be too long and the item is knit in the round. One of these days I really have to learn intarsia in the round.
And check prices on books before I take them to the bookstore.
I know I don't normally post on Friday but I just had to share my misery. I posted about getting a few knitting books together to sell at the used bookstore. DH took in about 10-15 and made $35. One of those books was "Color in Spinning" by Deb Menz. I found out today that it is out of print and currently selling on Bookfinder for $150-$190. sigh All this work I'm doing to write and advertise a booklet to make money for our rabbit rescue and I could have just sold one book I didn't want anyway. sigh Oh well I like the used bookstore so I can think of it as my way of helping them out as well.
The good news is that I'm working on some fun Debbie Bliss baby items and next week I should have some photos and info on intarsia, duplicate stitch and possibly the Philosopher's Wool method of weaving in every other stitch. I'm going to try this method in a particular situation where the floats will be too long and the item is knit in the round. One of these days I really have to learn intarsia in the round.
And check prices on books before I take them to the bookstore.
FIRST-TIME COLOR KNITTING PROJECTS
I've been asked several times for suggestions about good designs for a first time color knitting project. If anyone else out there has suggestions for this list let me know. I'll re-publish it occasionally. These are patterns where the charts are easily memorized and there is not a lot of simultaneous shaping going on.
Mittens
1. One of my favorite Blackberry Ridge designs (and one I'd love to knit again) is
the Bosnian mitten kit. These warm mittens are knit from a thick wool and even include a third color for contrast. I had to force myself to give these beauties away. Definitely an easy knit. I had some of the extra third contrast color left over so I duplicate stitched it in the center of the chart design on the front of the mittens.
2. The Halland mittens from Folk Mittens are also a pretty simple knit with an easy peasant thumb. I did change the cuff slightly - I think I added a line or two of the darker color to make more of a contrast.
I also changed to vertical stripes for the fingers for some reason.
Hats
1. One of the very first colorwork patterns I ever did was the Mushroom Cap from Homespun Handknit. EXTREMELY easy to do and lots of solid color knitting in between the stranded color knitting. You can use more than two colors also for a wilder hat. No photos since I made this many years ago.
2. The Peruvian Hat from Vogue Knitting Hats (the first one) is pretty easy and a good way to use up bits and pieces of stash yarn. The hardest part probably isn't the colorwork, it is the shaped garter stitch ear flaps.
Socks
1. I know that Nancy Bush's Folk Knitting in Estonia designs look complicated but not all the designs are and if you like using thinner yarns, I recommend Laila's Socks. I've knit this design twice, once with Wildfoote, and the charts are very easy with lots of straight stripe knitting between color knitting to speed things up. These socks have a round toe so you don't even have to bother doing Kitchener stitch.
This design does have color jogs. Look at the bottom of the sock feet in the book
photo and you'll see that the stripes don't match up. In this situation I'd agree with the designer and say just ignore it. The pattern is done in a fine enough yarn and probably no one is going to have their face that close to your socks to notice.
I can't find my photo of the socks but do check out Saartje's gorgeous version using a solid color and a variegated color titled Marina's Socks HERE.
Sweaters
1. If you're ready for a Dale of Norway sweater knit circularly with steeks, I
recommend Sirdal. The color charts are very unintimidating as opposed to some
Dale designs and there are only two colors. I made the Sirdal cardigan out of
Nature Spun sport and I do want to say that the sleeve cuffs are a bit wonky. They are split slightly and have a buttonhole. The only warning I have about this classic design is that the fancy Norwegian buttons and braided trim cost more than the yarn for the entire sweater. There are specific trim and buttons for the sweater which I wanted to use. The photo HERE shows the pullover version.
There's also a cute baby version of Sirdal HERE.
I've been asked several times for suggestions about good designs for a first time color knitting project. If anyone else out there has suggestions for this list let me know. I'll re-publish it occasionally. These are patterns where the charts are easily memorized and there is not a lot of simultaneous shaping going on.
Mittens
1. One of my favorite Blackberry Ridge designs (and one I'd love to knit again) is
the Bosnian mitten kit. These warm mittens are knit from a thick wool and even include a third color for contrast. I had to force myself to give these beauties away. Definitely an easy knit. I had some of the extra third contrast color left over so I duplicate stitched it in the center of the chart design on the front of the mittens.
2. The Halland mittens from Folk Mittens are also a pretty simple knit with an easy peasant thumb. I did change the cuff slightly - I think I added a line or two of the darker color to make more of a contrast.
I also changed to vertical stripes for the fingers for some reason.
Hats
1. One of the very first colorwork patterns I ever did was the Mushroom Cap from Homespun Handknit. EXTREMELY easy to do and lots of solid color knitting in between the stranded color knitting. You can use more than two colors also for a wilder hat. No photos since I made this many years ago.
2. The Peruvian Hat from Vogue Knitting Hats (the first one) is pretty easy and a good way to use up bits and pieces of stash yarn. The hardest part probably isn't the colorwork, it is the shaped garter stitch ear flaps.
Socks
1. I know that Nancy Bush's Folk Knitting in Estonia designs look complicated but not all the designs are and if you like using thinner yarns, I recommend Laila's Socks. I've knit this design twice, once with Wildfoote, and the charts are very easy with lots of straight stripe knitting between color knitting to speed things up. These socks have a round toe so you don't even have to bother doing Kitchener stitch.
This design does have color jogs. Look at the bottom of the sock feet in the book
photo and you'll see that the stripes don't match up. In this situation I'd agree with the designer and say just ignore it. The pattern is done in a fine enough yarn and probably no one is going to have their face that close to your socks to notice.
I can't find my photo of the socks but do check out Saartje's gorgeous version using a solid color and a variegated color titled Marina's Socks HERE.
Sweaters
1. If you're ready for a Dale of Norway sweater knit circularly with steeks, I
recommend Sirdal. The color charts are very unintimidating as opposed to some
Dale designs and there are only two colors. I made the Sirdal cardigan out of
Nature Spun sport and I do want to say that the sleeve cuffs are a bit wonky. They are split slightly and have a buttonhole. The only warning I have about this classic design is that the fancy Norwegian buttons and braided trim cost more than the yarn for the entire sweater. There are specific trim and buttons for the sweater which I wanted to use. The photo HERE shows the pullover version.
There's also a cute baby version of Sirdal HERE.
I am very grateful to all of you who are purchasing the stranded color knitting booklet. Please let me know via the comments on this blog if you still have any additional questions on the subject. I can always update the booklet. I do have a page with more info on the book if you're considering purchasing it at http://home.earthlink.net/~nanetteblanchard/id6.html .
I'm currently working on the Friday Harbor socks from Knitting on the Road and should have them ready to show this Sunday. I'm also doing a striped sideways garter stitch scarf to be sold at the Denver rabbit shelter.
Here are some of the local rabbits that were featured on the Four Corners Bunnies web site in the past few years. Their stories started out sad but all are now living the good life with their new adoptive homes.
I'm currently working on the Friday Harbor socks from Knitting on the Road and should have them ready to show this Sunday. I'm also doing a striped sideways garter stitch scarf to be sold at the Denver rabbit shelter.
Here are some of the local rabbits that were featured on the Four Corners Bunnies web site in the past few years. Their stories started out sad but all are now living the good life with their new adoptive homes.
STRANDED COLOR KNITTING BOOKLET
The booklet is finally ready. I'm happy with the booklet and the way the photos and graphs came out. The cover photo is pretty pathetic but I've never had any graphics talent. Go to our Four Corners Bunnies Cafepress shop at http://www.cafeshops.com/4cornersbuns and it is on the top of the page. The price is $9.99.
There are 36 pages with black and white photos and chapters on Color Jogs, Choosing Colors, How to Hold the Yarns, Floats vs. Weaving, Knitting from Charts, Tension Problems, Working in the Ends, and Blocking Your Knitting. There are two hat patterns - one written with extra details for new color knitters and a Norwegian Star Hat that uses three colors. All money from the booklet goes to the nonprofit Colorado House Rabbit Society in Denver and its satellite, Four Corners Bunnies which covers southwestern Colorado and Albuquerque.
While you are at the Cafepress shop - check out some of our cool rabbit merchandise. I've recently added a few photos and items. I personally find the Peaches the rabbit flying disc hilarious. If you absolutely hate the book you have 30 days to return it although shipping charges are not refundable. You can also shop at multiple Cafepress stores in one swoop and save on shipping. Cafepress has a current offer where you can save $3 on any order of $25 or more that expires June 8.
Thank you for all your interest. Wednesday I will show you some of the wonderful rabbit goofballs Four Corners Bunnies has found adoptive homes for in the past few years other than the fabulous Miss Peaches.
The booklet is finally ready. I'm happy with the booklet and the way the photos and graphs came out. The cover photo is pretty pathetic but I've never had any graphics talent. Go to our Four Corners Bunnies Cafepress shop at http://www.cafeshops.com/4cornersbuns and it is on the top of the page. The price is $9.99.
There are 36 pages with black and white photos and chapters on Color Jogs, Choosing Colors, How to Hold the Yarns, Floats vs. Weaving, Knitting from Charts, Tension Problems, Working in the Ends, and Blocking Your Knitting. There are two hat patterns - one written with extra details for new color knitters and a Norwegian Star Hat that uses three colors. All money from the booklet goes to the nonprofit Colorado House Rabbit Society in Denver and its satellite, Four Corners Bunnies which covers southwestern Colorado and Albuquerque.
While you are at the Cafepress shop - check out some of our cool rabbit merchandise. I've recently added a few photos and items. I personally find the Peaches the rabbit flying disc hilarious. If you absolutely hate the book you have 30 days to return it although shipping charges are not refundable. You can also shop at multiple Cafepress stores in one swoop and save on shipping. Cafepress has a current offer where you can save $3 on any order of $25 or more that expires June 8.
Thank you for all your interest. Wednesday I will show you some of the wonderful rabbit goofballs Four Corners Bunnies has found adoptive homes for in the past few years other than the fabulous Miss Peaches.
DH and I are looking into moving across country in the next year or so. When
discussing ways to do it, we decided to do it as simply as possible and to do
it ourselves with a tow-along U-Haul trailer. When we moved here so DH could get
his Ph.D. we got rid of a lot of stuff at that time. I donated most of my
dishes and kitchen stuff from when I was a food writer.
We don't have a lot of furniture and only one vehicle. We'll pay to have our
beloved canoe shipped separately and I think I will ship books (only the
necessary ones obviously) book rate via the UPS. This actually works for us
except for one problem - the yarn. Yikes. I have about 9 Rubbermaid containers
of fiber.
I am looking into vacuum sealers to shrink yarn but may consider shipping my
yarn. This situation does put things in a whole new light though. Trying to figure out what has enough value to pay the price of bringing it a thousand miles puts many of my yarn acquisitions in a new light, especially since I usually only buy yarn on sale. All stash acquisitions of any kind (yarn, patterns, books) are cancelled
until further notice (i.e., after we move). I'm also going to now focus on knitting
up as much of the yarn as possible.
I saw Jeanette the teenage Dale of Norway knitter this weekend at the library. I told
her I'll bring her in a ton of yarn this week. I'm also going to go through and purge
knitting patterns today or tomorrow. I will probably focus more on larger gauge knitting because that more easily uses up large amounts of yarn.
Still no sign of the Cafepress book. It shipped Friday so it should be here
soon. I will have photos of the Birch Leaf lace socks tomorrow.
discussing ways to do it, we decided to do it as simply as possible and to do
it ourselves with a tow-along U-Haul trailer. When we moved here so DH could get
his Ph.D. we got rid of a lot of stuff at that time. I donated most of my
dishes and kitchen stuff from when I was a food writer.
We don't have a lot of furniture and only one vehicle. We'll pay to have our
beloved canoe shipped separately and I think I will ship books (only the
necessary ones obviously) book rate via the UPS. This actually works for us
except for one problem - the yarn. Yikes. I have about 9 Rubbermaid containers
of fiber.
I am looking into vacuum sealers to shrink yarn but may consider shipping my
yarn. This situation does put things in a whole new light though. Trying to figure out what has enough value to pay the price of bringing it a thousand miles puts many of my yarn acquisitions in a new light, especially since I usually only buy yarn on sale. All stash acquisitions of any kind (yarn, patterns, books) are cancelled
until further notice (i.e., after we move). I'm also going to now focus on knitting
up as much of the yarn as possible.
I saw Jeanette the teenage Dale of Norway knitter this weekend at the library. I told
her I'll bring her in a ton of yarn this week. I'm also going to go through and purge
knitting patterns today or tomorrow. I will probably focus more on larger gauge knitting because that more easily uses up large amounts of yarn.
Still no sign of the Cafepress book. It shipped Friday so it should be here
soon. I will have photos of the Birch Leaf lace socks tomorrow.
No knitting content today but I do have something to share.
DH & I have become completely addicted to the Teaching Company. They find the best professors in the country and sell their lectures on history, science, math, literature, art, music, and religion. You can purchase DVDs, videotapes, CDs, or audiotapes of the lectures. So far we've listened to Voltaire and the Triumph of the Enlightenment and American Religious History (fascinating and highly recommended!) and we're in the middle of the High Middle Ages. I get to choose our next course so it will probably be astronomy or art or classical music. Listening to a class is prime knitting time.
There are some free lectures they email me about that anyone can listen to if you'd like to test them out. First, in honor of the 60th anniversary of D-Day coming up, they have a professor who teaches WWII Military History doing a free 30-minute lecture called Eisenhower and Operation Overlord. To listen to it, go HERE and you can either listen to a stream on your computer, download it or burn it to a CD. This offer expires July 3, 2004.
They also offer two free 30 minutes lectures titled Fact and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code by a biblical expert HERE. This free lecture expires September 6, 2004. I haven't listened to any of these yet but I urge you to try them out. I am finding the professors all vary a bit in style but they are all passionate about the subjects. If this sounds like your cup of tea, I recommend you order their free print catalog which offers more information about the specific classes than the web site. Also, all the classes are on sale throughout the year so choose the sale classes or they can be quite expensive. On sale though they seem less expensive than books on tape.
Photos today include Jack the cat and Peaches the rabbit sharing a snack of Peaches' special home-grown oat grass.
DH & I have become completely addicted to the Teaching Company. They find the best professors in the country and sell their lectures on history, science, math, literature, art, music, and religion. You can purchase DVDs, videotapes, CDs, or audiotapes of the lectures. So far we've listened to Voltaire and the Triumph of the Enlightenment and American Religious History (fascinating and highly recommended!) and we're in the middle of the High Middle Ages. I get to choose our next course so it will probably be astronomy or art or classical music. Listening to a class is prime knitting time.
There are some free lectures they email me about that anyone can listen to if you'd like to test them out. First, in honor of the 60th anniversary of D-Day coming up, they have a professor who teaches WWII Military History doing a free 30-minute lecture called Eisenhower and Operation Overlord. To listen to it, go HERE and you can either listen to a stream on your computer, download it or burn it to a CD. This offer expires July 3, 2004.
They also offer two free 30 minutes lectures titled Fact and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code by a biblical expert HERE. This free lecture expires September 6, 2004. I haven't listened to any of these yet but I urge you to try them out. I am finding the professors all vary a bit in style but they are all passionate about the subjects. If this sounds like your cup of tea, I recommend you order their free print catalog which offers more information about the specific classes than the web site. Also, all the classes are on sale throughout the year so choose the sale classes or they can be quite expensive. On sale though they seem less expensive than books on tape.
Photos today include Jack the cat and Peaches the rabbit sharing a snack of Peaches' special home-grown oat grass.
MORE ON COLOR
I don't normally use multi-colored yarns but lately I've been thinking of lace socks so I purchased these yarns from Smileys.
I also want to do fair isle socks with one strand solid color and strand multi-colored yarn - one of the old Socka books has some nice patterns. I purchased three skeins of each color because this particular yarn,Calzetteria Cervinia, has lower yardage than most sock yarns.
I was watching a design show on BBCAmerica last night that focused on color. They had some psychologists who said that we all determine our color preferences by the time we are in our teens. They also said that most children under five prefer reds, yellows, and oranges. After five they start to like blues and greens.
They discussed a study where they put participants in either a blue room with blue lights or a red room with red lights. Not only did the subjects in the blue room start having more relaxing brain waves but they also were colder even though the rooms were the same temperature.
Then they showed a bright red on the screen and asked everyone to really stare at it. Then they asked you to close your eyes. You should see then see green, red's contrast color on the color wheel.
The show provided some additional help to those of us looking to add more color to our homes. First of all, if you want to paint a swatch of a color on a wall to test it out, do it on both sides of a corner so you can see the color in shadow as well. Secondly, consider the color of the light that comes in from outside. For instance, if you have yellow walls but big windows looking out on a lot of green lawn, the light coming in from outside will have a green tinge and turn your yellow more greenish.
Sheila from Fiber Raven Soiree has an excellent color sense that I envy greatly (she can design fair isle color schemes with ease!) and she once said in a post on ASOFlives that to remember that even shadows have colors. I never thought about it but she's right.
I don't normally use multi-colored yarns but lately I've been thinking of lace socks so I purchased these yarns from Smileys.
I also want to do fair isle socks with one strand solid color and strand multi-colored yarn - one of the old Socka books has some nice patterns. I purchased three skeins of each color because this particular yarn,Calzetteria Cervinia, has lower yardage than most sock yarns.
I was watching a design show on BBCAmerica last night that focused on color. They had some psychologists who said that we all determine our color preferences by the time we are in our teens. They also said that most children under five prefer reds, yellows, and oranges. After five they start to like blues and greens.
They discussed a study where they put participants in either a blue room with blue lights or a red room with red lights. Not only did the subjects in the blue room start having more relaxing brain waves but they also were colder even though the rooms were the same temperature.
Then they showed a bright red on the screen and asked everyone to really stare at it. Then they asked you to close your eyes. You should see then see green, red's contrast color on the color wheel.
The show provided some additional help to those of us looking to add more color to our homes. First of all, if you want to paint a swatch of a color on a wall to test it out, do it on both sides of a corner so you can see the color in shadow as well. Secondly, consider the color of the light that comes in from outside. For instance, if you have yellow walls but big windows looking out on a lot of green lawn, the light coming in from outside will have a green tinge and turn your yellow more greenish.
Sheila from Fiber Raven Soiree has an excellent color sense that I envy greatly (she can design fair isle color schemes with ease!) and she once said in a post on ASOFlives that to remember that even shadows have colors. I never thought about it but she's right.
The color knitting booklet is finished. Now I am just waiting for the first copy to make sure it is formatted right before I can offer it for sale. I think it should be ready in about a week. If any of you out there are thinking about self-publishing, I really recommend Cafepress. The process was simpler than I expected. You need to download some free software to turn your book into a .PDF file and then just upload the whole thing. There's a message board for other self-publishers which I also found helpful.
The book is 36 pages and has twelve chapters - Stranded Color Knitting vs. Intarsia, Choosing Colors and Yarn Substitutions, How to Hold the Yarns, Floats vs. Weaving, Knitting from Charts, Tension Problems, Color Jogs, Blocking Your Knitting, Dealing in the Ends, Easy Colorwork Cap, Norwegian Star Hat, and Bibliography and Recommended Web Sites.
I used the least expensive binding method, somewhat like a comic book. The final price is $9.99 which means about $4.60 is earned for the nonprofit House Rabbit Society. The money earned will be divided - 50% will go to our regional group Four Corners Bunnies. We have a HRS fosterer who generally has about 15 rabbits in foster care, mostly received from the humane society. The other 50% will go to the Colorado House Rabbit Society in Denver. They are quite large and have their own shelter and lots of fosterers. Most of the money will go directly to them for food, shelter, and veterinary expenses but we're going to use a small amount of that money to pay postage and expenses for a program to spin and knit up shelter bunny fur products for their gift shop. I'm unsure how much bunny fur they have but once we get started that may be a blog project as well if there are people out there who'd like to either spin or knit items with bunny fur (angora as well as short-haired rabbits - some of it may be blended with wool).
Not terribly exciting but here's the cover for the booklet.
The book is 36 pages and has twelve chapters - Stranded Color Knitting vs. Intarsia, Choosing Colors and Yarn Substitutions, How to Hold the Yarns, Floats vs. Weaving, Knitting from Charts, Tension Problems, Color Jogs, Blocking Your Knitting, Dealing in the Ends, Easy Colorwork Cap, Norwegian Star Hat, and Bibliography and Recommended Web Sites.
I used the least expensive binding method, somewhat like a comic book. The final price is $9.99 which means about $4.60 is earned for the nonprofit House Rabbit Society. The money earned will be divided - 50% will go to our regional group Four Corners Bunnies. We have a HRS fosterer who generally has about 15 rabbits in foster care, mostly received from the humane society. The other 50% will go to the Colorado House Rabbit Society in Denver. They are quite large and have their own shelter and lots of fosterers. Most of the money will go directly to them for food, shelter, and veterinary expenses but we're going to use a small amount of that money to pay postage and expenses for a program to spin and knit up shelter bunny fur products for their gift shop. I'm unsure how much bunny fur they have but once we get started that may be a blog project as well if there are people out there who'd like to either spin or knit items with bunny fur (angora as well as short-haired rabbits - some of it may be blended with wool).
Not terribly exciting but here's the cover for the booklet.
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