Winter Class #2: Argyle Vest, continued

Feelings are like a color chart
that God has given us.
[Keith Miller]

Eight knitters started knitting their argyle vests in the first class. In addition to using printed instructions to get them started on the ribbing and vest back, they also filled in work sheets that helped them figure their stitch and row count based upon their gauge and measurements.

In the intervening two weeks, each sent me their calculations and I updated their customized color charts to use when they knit the argyle vest front (photo above).

As I polish the instructions for knitting the front and adding the finishing touches, I am faced with my usual quandary when writing patterns. How much do I include in the instructions? Do I illustrate how to add duplicate stitch accents, work attached iCord around the arm holes, and finish the v-neck with a miter and invisible bind off? Or do I just say do it and assume knitters will look it up if they don’t know how? In a perfect world, I’d publish this using little videos in an enhanced eBook. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Read Full Post »

Winter Class: Argyle Vest

Design is not just
what it looks like
and feels like.
Design is how it works.
[Steve Jobs]

Teaching classes is an asset for a knitting-pattern designer. At least it is for me. Not only do my students inspire me by their requests and enthusiasm, but they help me clarify the pattern details and how to word the instructions. I have been composing a basic vest pattern in multiple sizes and gauges for an argyle technique class. Here are details of the fun parts of the pattern and how the design works:

• Each of the eight students selected yarn colors in DK or light worsted weight from their favorite brands (Cascade 220, Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Brown Sheep Nature Spun, Rowan Creative Focus). I customized color charts (shown above) for each student to use with her written pattern.
• The lower edge is ribbing that is knit in the round so it lays nicely on the hips.
• The body is knit in two parts (back which is plain and front which is argyle) but the seam starts above the ribbing. Two stitches are added at the beginning and end of each piece as a seam allowance to produce an easy to sew, tidy seam.
• The armholes are finished with applied iCord and the V-neck is finished with ribbing and an invisible bind off.
• Attention is paid to smoothness of the fabric. Yarn joins and wraps follow the suggestions in the book shown below.
• The accent lines are worked in duplicate stitch.

An excellent source for refining intarsia technique is Intarsia—A Workshop for Hand & Machine Knitting from the studio of Sealed with a Kiss (Sherry and Keely Stuever). Select this LINK to download a sample swatch pattern for argyle intarsia.

Read Full Post »

Free Knitting Pattern: Basic Hat

If a woman rebels against high-heeled shoes,
she should take care to do it in a very smart hat
[George Bernard Shaw]

Our autumn is so sparkling and fresh that I can’t imagine needing a hat, but I know the cold winds will come so I thought I would offer a simple hat pattern. Two of my favorite people agreed to model the two variations. Josh, on the left is wearing the regular watch cap. Rachel is wearing a cloche version. Both take about 220 yards of yarn, are knitted in short-row wedges and joined with a 3-needle bind off. The cloche is joined unevenly allowing a step cuff to be pinned up with a broach.

Select this LINK to download this free printable PDF pattern.

Read Full Post »

The Sock Knitter’s Handbook

All things are difficult before they are easy.
[Thomas Fuller]

I took this book to a sock-knitting class, and the seven class members insisted that they each had to have a copy for reference to carry with them. I listened to their excited discussion about what they liked best about the book. Here’s a partial list:

• The photos are so clear and easy to understand
• The binding allows the book to lie open easily
• There are so many variations to choose from
• The charts and diagrams are useful
• The stitch samples stimulate sock design ideas
• The book size is easy to handle and carry . . .

The Sock Knitter’s Handbook, Expert Advice, Tips, & Tricks by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott was published this year (2012) by Martingale and Company. At first glance, this book seems quite simple, but simple usually requires more thought, organization and effort to produce well than something lengthy and wordy. This handbook hints at that underlying effort which has made it very useful.

The authors introduce color-coded photos for parts of socks in the “Sock Architecture” chapter then proceed through the various sections using the color coding to present a number of ways to knit each part of a sock. They also present charts for such information as yarn yardage and foot measurements. Diagrams show how to execute specific stitch techniques, and a stitch dictionary presents a variety of decorative ideas for jazzing up a sock.

Since my day job is working as a graphic artist in publication design, the first thing I notice about a book is its production features. Not only does this book have a pleasing page design that enhances its message, but its binding and paper choices make it user friendly. Since I also design knitting patterns and I want to avoid being influenced by other people’s designs, I must confess that I rarely look at knitting pattern books or magazines. I’m delighted I had a reason to review this one. It will go directly into my knitting bag for future use.

Book Giveaway Contest

Ms Schurch sent me an extra copy of this book to give away in a contest. In one week, I will collect the names from the comments to this post and have a drawing. Then I will email the winner for a mailing address and send the lucky knitter the new book. So, do enter the contest by leaving a comment.

Read Full Post »

Carried Away

Grace is knowing when to bind off.
[Rachael Herron]

Okay, so I got a bit carried away. This Regia Hand-dye Effect yarn caught my eye not only because of its color, but also for its unusual texture. It has what looks like single-spun wool wrapped with a fine strand of nylon to strengthen it for wear, but it knits up smoothly and felt wonderful when I tried it on.

I am currently working on a toe-up anklet pattern for a workshop in May. I have it adjusted for a variety of stitches, yarn weights and needles. I was trying one more variation with this yarn but failed to stop at the ankle and made it knee high. There are cabled clocks up each side, and increases on the back half to enlarge it for the calf of the leg. It actually stays up.

Read Full Post »

Blocking Hats (and attitude)

Grab your coat, and get your hat,
Leave your worry on the doorstep
Just direct your feet,
To the sunny side of the street.
[Dorothy Fields]

I knit the hats in the photo when I designed the pattern for a lace book a dozen years ago. When the publisher shipped them back to me after the photo shoot, they weren’t in the boxes I provided for their protection. They were all crushed together in a little shipping carton. I was dismayed and chucked them into my store room.

When I was cleaning up after Christmas, I found them, and decided I would try to salvage them. I removed the ribbons and silk flowers, and then I re-blocked them by pinning them out moist on a board and with a hat form. The process worked well. The three in the back of the photo haven’t been re-decorated yet and there is one left to do. It is of white linen and will be decorated for a bride.

An odd thing happened during this process. I was dismayed all over again when I found them but, during the restoration process, I’ve finally moved past being irked. There has got to be a lesson in there somewhere.

Read Full Post »

Layers of Lace

I wondered to what extent people remained the same
as they’d been when very young;
if one peeled back the layers of living
one would come to the know the child.
[Dick Francis]

My thoughts have rambled this morning as I tidied up from my weekend activities. One of those activities was teaching a lace knitting workshop. I carried the samples spread out on a circular board so they wouldn’t muss. It got me to thinking about the metaphor of layers.

I follow a blog by a gentleman named, Tom Basson. Today’s post fit in with my musings, A Better Story. Here is what grabbed me:

Stories are universal – crossing boundaries of language, culture and age. We can all relate to stories, and it is in the context of narrative that the human heart truly responds. In fact, people have been telling and responding to stories since the beginning of time. It’s how most cultures pass on information from generation to generation.

Interestingly, recent evidence from neurology and psychology is confirming that humans think in narrative structures. Concepts conveyed in story form – more than ideas explained with logic and analysis – imprint themselves naturally into human minds.

It’s why we can remember a book or a film from years back, but can’t remember the PowerPoint we saw 10 minutes ago.

A good story has many layers just like my stack of lace. Even my lace has a story. A hundred years ago (for real), Mama first knit lace because string was free. She saved it from packages wrapped at the general store. Fifty years ago, I first knit lace because a ball of string cost less than a dollar, could entertain me for a hundred hours, and produced a more spectacular gift than I could afford to buy. It also became a way to meditate. The hours I spent knitting lace were relaxed and focused on something complex but beautiful. Now, my daughter knits lace.

So, is there a book in those few sentences? Should I call it, The Lace Knitters and make it one of those epics that move from generation to generation with layers of challenges and characters?

FOOTNOTE: Mama and I were eating a holiday meal at her retirement home when I commented upon how grumpy some of the people were. She told me, “The older you get, the more you will realize that people might acquire more layers, but underneath if they are a grumpy old person, you can bet that they were a grumpy child. If someone is a sweet-natured oldster, they were a sweet-natured child.”

Read Full Post »

Lincoln Star Quilt—Finished

I keep my end tables full of
knitting and quilting
so I don’t have to dust them.

I’ve dressed up my bedroom for the holidays. My new quilt (Lincoln Star) is finished so I paired it with new, navy blue flannel sheets. The pillow slips were sewn by Darlene, one of my knitting students. I love the touch of red she added to the cuffs. The small pillows are samples from one of the fall knitting classes that I taught at Sarah Jane’s. They are variations of the heirloom counterpane pattern. The bargello quilt wall hanging above the bed was made by my daughter, Ellen, the lamp was turned from wild cherry wood by my father, and the bedstead was handmade from walnut wood by a gentleman here in Indiana. I cleared my knitting off of the end table to take the photo.

Winter days are very short in northern Indiana so, when it gets dark, my little dog and I curl up in this cozy warmth. He naps while I knit and read. How can I be anything less than happy?

Read Full Post »

First Things First

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
[Clement C. Moore]

Knitters usually get a jump on the winter holiday season. That’s because it takes awhile to finish knitted projects. This year, I set priorities. The newest child gets a Christmas stocking designed and knit by Grandma, brass tag and jingle bells included. I finished it today. This stocking goes to Malcolm Dean Smith who was born in June. Two years ago I posted photos of two other Christmas stockings at these links: Cole’s stocking (Malcolm’s big brother) and Owain’s stocking (Malcolm’s cousin).

I don’t always meet my self-imposed deadlines. I’m sure it is a joke in my family (the members of which are too kind to mention it to my face) that I’ve often given gifts wrapped with the needles still in live stitches. I did offer to finish it for them although some might tell you that they never saw it again. Now I can check my gift list to see who is next.

Read Full Post »

Pine Trees and Clam Shells

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,
through which God speaks to us every hour,
if we will only tune in.
[George Washington Carver]

Nature is inspirational to be sure. The sweater at the left features pine trees. It was knit using Cascade 220. I’m using it as the basis of a class I’m leading at Sarah Jane’s Yarn Shoppe. The sweater above is the same pattern but I replaced the pine trees with clam shells that I found in an Alice Starmore book. Then, I found clamshell pewter buttons at Danforth in Vermont. I’m anxious to get this sweater finished just to see how it looks.

Read Full Post »