Sock marathon knitting....
Topic: quick projects

 

 

It's that time of year again. Three consecutive cool mornings had me reaching for socks and wool clogs. Granted, they were cotton socks, but I KNOW what lies ahead. 

I had this irresistible urge to own new charcoal handknit socks. I auditioned a few yarns, but Cascade 220 won hands down for its softness and spring. Since the heels in this stuff do wear out, I added silk/wool fingering yarn to the heels, where I generally wear thin and open a few holes by year two. I wear wool clogs all winter, so the thicker yarn works well and is warmer on snowy mornings.

So, now I'm good for 3 years, at least, with this pair. 

 I have this thing about nylon in socks. I hate wearing socks made with nylon reinforced yarn as they cause my feet to sweat. But nylon DOES help sock yarns wear longer.  I also don't enjoy wearing yarns that have been superwash treated, as they simply aren't as warm as the untreated ones. (This is actually a bonus for wearing wool indoors in our heated environments!) So, I have scoured the yarn world for a sock reinforcing yarn to add to untreated natural fiber yarns for my socks. The answer (and there are two):

• 100% adult mohair spun LACE WEIGHT thin. This is only available as handspun as far as I have been able to find.
• 50silk/50wool laceweight yarn. YES! This I have been able to find and now am stocking in a few colors for those as driven as I am about this issue.

So, I add this stuff to heels and enjoy many years of wear before I have to repair them.

I thought I was done for a while, but THEN, on a yarn browsing trip with Marie and Char, I happened across  Ultra Alpaca Light and fell in love with the stuff. "SOCKS!" they screamed at me. And I listened. The heather colors are gorgeous, the yarn is inexpensive, and here, at last, is a sport weight version of a good no-nylon sock yarn. Alpaca is WAY warmer than wool, and the combo seems perfect. (I own 100% alpaca socks and adore them, but they are on the thick side like the Cascade 220 socks, and although I adore their silky texture and warmth, they do stretch out from lack of elasticity.)

So, I got in touch with my suppliers and made the plunge. Into the shop yesterday arrived a HUGE box with the first 7 colors. On my needles, the first sock is almost done:

I will post a better picture when they are both finished, but I couldn't resist showing the gorgeous purple heather color next to fall oranges and greens. I am totally enjoying myself with this yarn. I am knitting on US #2's and #3's and getting 6 sts=1". I would love a finely knit sweater in this yarn. My head is full of plans!

 

 

Cabled Braids Hat
Topic: cables

 

 

The pattern editing for this great hat is almost done. The applied I-cord edging was WAY COOL, and I opted to keep the braid ends flatter by tacking them together, instead of tying, as was done in the first hat.  Many heads have tried this on, and we are finding that the bigger this hat is, the better it looks, so one of the sizes is 26" finished.

It became a religious experience to get all three braid ends to emerge seamlessly from the applied edging on the INSIDE. I have spared the pattern followers this in the pattern, but would be glad to chat at length about this issue in any correspondence.

As mentioned before, this pattern will be available in September's COUNTRYWOOL NEWS free of charge, so be sure to sign up at countrywool.

Sweater Construction: Short Row Necks
Topic: percentage knitting

This morning on the KNITLIST, this subject came up, and once again, I thought it timely to post instructions to budding pattern designers. 

 Let me preface the directions by saying that this uniquely worked neck was first illustrated for me in Elizabeth Zimmermann's KNITTING WITHOUT TEARS . This book opened up a door for me in sweater design, and once going through I have never looked back.

Well fitting necks are lower in the front and higher in the back.  Working circularly knit sweaters has always been a challenge, as the easy way to finish off, or start, a circular sweater generally results in a neck that crowds the chin. Necks are commonly 2-4 inches higher in the back for most adult sweaters....1-2 inches for kids. If you know your row gauge (work a swatch to find it!) you can figure out for yourself how many short rows to add to any sweater pattern for the perfect fit. Where to put them is knitter's choice, but generally they look best if the TURNS are straddling the shoulders, so they are not always exactly where you see them in the diagram. The TURNS need to be staggered in an even manner, so that you create a CRESCENT MOON shape of added fabric. Short row wrap turns are executed thusly:

short row wrap =
slip next st, bring working yarn through needles to opposite side of work,
slip st  back to left hand needle, put working yarn back to where it started.
Turn work, preparing to work back in the opposite direction, as in flat, back-and-forth knitting.

Here is a common spacing of shaping short row turns:
Row 1: outside: work in pattern to 2 sts before last wrapped st, SRW, turn
Row 2: inside: work in pattern to 2 sts before last wrapped st, SRW, turn.

There are a few ways to create a short row neck in the round. This first illustration is a hugely exaggerated depiction of inner to outer.  The black oval illustrates the bind off row of the neck. Depending on whether you are working the neck bottom up (Zimmermann style) or top down (Walker style), your short rows are the ENDING of the neck shaping or the BEGINNING and may not be connected at first.  Zimmermann style has you starting with the ORANGE line and working to the RED, and Walker style is the reverse, which is what the words below walk you through (pun intended).

Starting at the innermost red line on the left, work across, in pattern, to the innermost red line at the right, execute a short row wrap, TURN. Short row necks are worked in back-and-forth knitting ad NOT in the round, with the short row wrapped stitches marking the turning points. Work across past the initial red-line point, to the next red line on the left , execute a short row wrap, TURN.
Work in pattern to the first blue line on the right, execute a short row wrap, TURN, work across past the initial red/blue line point, to the next blue/green line on the left , execute a short row wrap, TURN.
Work in pattern to the first green line on the right, execute a short row wrap, TURN, work across past the initial blue/green line point, to the next orange/green line on the left, execute a short row wrap, TURN.

Connecting Round: Work around the ENTIRE neck, in the round. Short row back-and-forth knitting is now abandoned. The extra short rows you have worked back and forth will cause the back of the neck to be longer than the front, allowing the neck to sit properly on your shoulders.

 

 

Knitting creativity in the heat of summer
Topic: cables

The Neighborhood Knitters, who have met not once, but TWICE a week this summer, have been knitting up a storm. Despite my intention to take a knitting break, I have been Sucked In. 

What did it?

This hat in an ad on the back of a magazine in June:

Lisbet had tried and tried to research the booklet this pattern was sold in to no avail. She had her mother (in Denmark) search online for DAYS about what the other designs in the book looked like before she plunked down her money to order it sight unseen. No luck.

Lisbet has the most incredible whine, EXCELLENT attention to knitting detail, and a short attention span, so in June we decided to attempt recreating this hat. 

It has been a journey. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, though the backtracking has been legendary.

 It's a really great hat. We are knitting it with 2 skeins silk/wool chunky VENEZIA. The I-cord edging/braids is way cool. I haven't had this much fun knitting in a LONG time. Ours' has short row ear shapings and blipless I-cord. (Be still my beating heart).

 Mine is lime and hers' is red. More pictures to follow in the next week.

Summer Knitting

 

 

What is it about baby sweaters in the summer? I love to knit for Wee Ones (projects get finished!) and working with summer colors is always fun.

This Seed Stitch sweater pattern is one I have made since my kids were small. It is worked from the top down in one piece, with the sleeves worked in-the-round. No seams. I just resized/published it for FIXATION, which is the ONLY cotton yarn I will work with. Love the s-t-r-e-t-c-h in the stuff, which makes it PERFECT when dressing babies and kids.

I also added a pair of booties in the same color, made from a free pattern on SAARTJE KNITS.

 (If you are interested in the sweater yarn and pattern, go here.)

Cotton, silk, bamboo yarns?

The question of the month around here....what yarns are good for summer knitting and wearing? The only cotton yarn I sell at Countrywool and knit with is Fixation. I absolutely adore it. But, I am feeling the need to find another cotton or bamboo or soy one that knits finer and has some silk in it. I have stocked cotton/wool, cotton/alpaca, cotton/angora, cotton/mohair yarns in the past, and they simply radiate too much warmth.

One reason I adore Fixation is that it comes in 84 colors, and I stock 46 of them. I want to find a really good finer yarn that will be as versatile for my customers. So, it has to come in at least 30 colors.  I am looking for a weight similar to dk or sport: 50 grams and 110-130 yards.

Bamboo has the reputation of being unbelievably soft, but there is something about it being fragile while wet. And silk has an issue all its own...it can have an odor that repels some knitters. Linen can be harsh to the hand. Viscose from wood pulp is a GREAT natural fiber addition for summer, so I am thinking a cotton/viscose yarn would be a way to go. 

Yarns I am considering:

Classic Elite PREMIERE 

Shulana SOJABAMA 

Dale SVALE 

Cascade PIMA TENCEL
 

There are lots of yarns on the market, and If anyone reading this blog has an opinion on what I can look at, please drop me a note. Better yet...be the FIRST to send me an 8"x8" square of the yarn you like all knitted up and washed, along with the label, so I can see for myself. I'll be happy to ship you 2 balls of FIXATION and a sock pattern in return for your trouble. 

send to:
Countrywool

59 Spring Road

Hudson NY 12534 

Faroe Vine Sweater and Hat
Topic: faroese knitting

This hat was knit by Tracey Ewing:

Faroe Broken Root Sweater and Hat
Topic: faroese knitting

 

 

Faroe Blossom Sweater and Hat
Topic: faroese knitting

Pictures tell a greater story than any words, and so here is the Faroe Blossom design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Between retreats and decisions
Topic: stranded knitting

 

 So, here is the unblocked version of my second edge finish treatment. This is what came to the first Faroe Retreat with me while I mulled over if I liked the two-tone front. I do. So, I have decided to finish this off and block it.

 The first finish was all in charcoal, was double stranded and had standard one-row buttonholes in a garter stitch background. It was too dark and too massive for the eye. So I reknit the right buttonband in light gray and added hidden I-cord buttonholes, which caused a scallop look when buttoned. This necessitated a wider LEFT band, so I took off the original one, reduced the thickness and increased the width.

I think it's a keeper.