Every December brings a two-fold goal to me:

• to plan for and knit though small gifts for Christmas gifting
• the New Year's Eve Works In Process deadline.

When the New Year gets here, I rip out all knitting projects that have lost their luster and are unfinished OR donate them in unfinished form to charity if I can find a knitter to finish them. I clean all my knitting needles and restore them to their cases. I rewind yarn worth keeping and donate the rest to charity. 

 This serves many purposes.

1. It forces me to remain conscious of projects
2. It forces me to be thrifty in knitting needle and notion acquisitions
3. It gives me a starting and ending point for new ideas, and
   
4. It rids me of baggage, allowing me to be fully creative

Not all ideas, projects or yarns are worth knitting and finishing. But, the ones that are I get done by the New Year. I am hunting through my knitting baskets (I have close to 15 I think) to see which ones are worth the extra push to get them done. Starting on Christmas Day, I plan for 5 hours of knitting a day, and reserve New year's Eve for the grand purge.

Christmas knitting is toddling along nicely. I have finished and gifted half of the projects. I have lots of Pointless Gloves on the needles:

Stay tuned for final pics.

Posted by countrywool at 9:35 AM EST

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I have been doing a phenomenal amount of teaching this past month. Coupled with that, 2 of our 4 parents are now ensconced in nursing homes, and another needs in-home surveillance, so we visit often. Time for blogging, and even knitting!, is hard to come by. In spite of that, I diligently started off with my holiday projects last month.

One of my daughters is involved with an Adopt-A-Family-For-Christmas project and asked if the Neighborhood Knitters could/would help. Ida and I answered the call and have been plugging along...she is making hats and I made mittens for the 3 children in the family. The mittens are pictured above. 

After all these years of knitting, I have mittens down pretty pat. I use my Easy Mitten pattern, and just change the yarn and shorten the lengths knitted to make sizes smaller/larger. I took this opportunity to investigate Wee Hand sizes, and ended up rewriting the pattern to include 9 sizes. It is for sale at Countrywool. 

I am also working on headbands with my handspun angora/wool leftover yarn lengths:

I've made 3 this week. There is always someone who needs something for their head once the weather gets cold, and these are fun to hand out. I keep a few ready to gift away all winter.

 When the last is finished, and there are no more handspun scraps to use up, I will start on the Pointless Gloves project. I hope to make 5 pairs by Christmas. THEN, I am hoping to make two neck shawlets for my Mom and her roommate at the nursing home out of Royal (sigh) Cashmere. 

Pictures will come so stay tuned!

Posted by countrywool at 7:36 AM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 12 December 2006 7:37 AM EST

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 This year's holiday theme is the Winter of The Hand. I do slippers every year and I feel rebellious this time.  As we approach "crunch" knitting time with the arrival of the Thanksgiving Bird, I am finishing up projects on the needles so I can cast on for Christmas presents the day after.

So what ARE these?

Handfast Mittens. One full pair of mittens PLUS a two-handed one, for holding hands while walking together.  Lover's Mittens. Glittens They have many names.

 I make these for special couples, and there's one on my list this year. Knit at 3 sts=1" in a doubled yarn, they are done in a flash.

HANDFAST MITTEN KITS available here.

Posted by countrywool at 11:38 AM EST

Updated: Thursday, 16 November 2006 11:39 AM EST

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So, all this teaching and pattern writing and retreat organization makes for a POOR blogger. This is for Marie who has pleaded with me to get with it!

Organizing for the SOCK KNITTING WEEKEND at Countrywool, I finally got all the hard edges knocked off the REINDEER SOCKS pattern:

Written in my favorite style with a short row heel and a wedge toe, these is my default sock pattern.  I like working with 12" circular needles when I use multiple colors. There is less tangling with points, etc. And, the 12" needle diameter forces some stretch into the stranding, which allows for a good finish.

But, I have been challenged by the AVID sock knitters in my knitting circle to branch out, so... then, I went on to work out the particulars of a Dutch heel for these socks. This is a big step for me, for I avoid heel-flap heels like the plague. I added in some well-fitting ribbing and a fun star-toe that makes for a FAST finish for DUTCH SOCKS. My daughter has a pair of these in bright gold that she wears in her Birkenstocks on the Marist campus:

Lastly, for the toe-up and Magic Loop crowd, here are PEACE FLEECE SOCKS, worked from the toe with a Figure 8 Cast On, a Peasant (afterthought) Heel and a Sewn-Off Bind Off, on one LONG circular needle:

Too cute, and I had a blast creating them all. A nice thing for the gift-knitting crowd: these last two are worked on bulky worsted yarns: PEACE FLEECE and LAMB"S PRIDE WORSTED.

Want to come and try them all at a knitting weekend? Check out the RIP VAN WINKLE WINTER SOCK KNITTING RETREAT, scheduled snow or shine, for February 2007.

Posted by countrywool at 9:16 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 26 October 2006 9:17 AM EDT

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 Three weeks will see the first Countrywool Sock Weekend. This winter will see the first Countrywool Sock Weekend Retreat. I am up to my ears in editing sock patterns for teaching. I hope that all knitters who attend these gatherings will come away with a clear understanding of 3 distinct and different ways to make socks. A bonus at these retreat/weekend gatherings are the new knitting skills knitters add to their repertoires: Figure 8 Cast On; Twisted German Cast on; sewn down Cast Off; long circular seamless sock magic loop knitting, etc. These weekends will be jam packed with new and exciting ways to enjoy making the mundane yet much beloved sock. 

As I try to be as exact as I can about detailed instructions for those moments when they will NOT be at the weekend and can ask questions, I know there will be stupid errors in any pattern I write. I agonize over how to eliminate as many of them as I can, so that knitters can enjoy the pleasure of working continuously and with great success through my directions. This is the cry of any pattern writer, and she is dependent upon expert knitters/pattern testers to proof knit her directions. I am lucky that many of my knitting friends will check out my directions for goofs and typos, and I always include a phone number/e-mail on the finished pattern so knitters can get to me right away with any question.

But, I am continually amazed at how helpful a spreadsheet can be when working up the particulars for any set of directions. I have been using Microsoft EXCEL for 2 years now, and every time I go back to it to check on sizing variations, I am again grateful that it can be so helpful so quickly. I cannot tell you how often my Algebra skills have come into play as I work out unique pattern formulas, and then EXCEL will just convert all 12 sizes in an instant. 

This is true magic.  

The Peace Fleece Socks pattern will have a Figure 8 Cast On, worked on one long circular needle in the magic loop style, with a Peasant Heel and Sewn Off Bind Off. It will fit feet 5" around to 12" around. And if I am really lucky, EXCEL caught all the inequities in the pattern process.

 I am toying with organizing a Pattern Writing Retreat at Countrywool. Anyone interested? Let me know.

Posted by countrywool at 10:33 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 26 October 2006 9:20 AM EDT

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I think I am so smart that I can judge a new-to-me yarn and can guess what it'll do after knitting and blocking. 

Ha!  

Here is the first swatch I knit on #8 Brittany walnut needles (my last full unbroken pair, so I like to use them when I can). The Brittanies are single point straight needles, and dragging the stitches along did not allow for a tighter gauge. It appears a little loose after being knit, but not out of line:

 Then I washed it, and had QUITE the revelation about what this yarn does, so I quickly got another set of needles and reswatched. I used Flex Needles this time, which allow the majority of the stitches to relax when they are not being worked. The new swatch was washed and behaved much better. Both are shown side by side: (new on the left and original one on the right):

So, after all this, it looks like my knitting gauge is 4.75 sts=1" in cabled pattern. Curiously, the row gauge is almost square: 4.8 rows =1".

 Now I start thinking about mapping where cables might go, and how to create a fold line down the front pieces to allow for the double breasted closure Betsi wants. 

Stay tuned.

Posted by countrywool at 1:10 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 10 September 2006 2:18 PM EDT

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We have searched and searched through books and magazines, and the important word for Betsi and her new sweater is BIG. Her cables need to be big and bold. She doesn't want an all-over cabled look, either, rather showcasing the one or two that are in the sweater, with lots of plain knitting surrounding them. 

I am thinking a lacey cable will help somewhat with the weight of this thing.

 So, armed with a few ideas and possibilities we found these past weeks, I am going to knit a few swatches for her perusal. 

The current issue of VOGUE KNITTING has an interesting BIG cable:

But, of course, it is not exactly what she is looking for. I spent some time this morning tweaking it, and will swatch this evening if all goes well. Here is the chart I will use (sorry about no symbol key..pressed for time):

I am using VENEZIA from Cascade Yarns; merino wool and silk. I suspect I'll get about 3 sts=1" in stocking stitch, but we'll see what the cabling does to the gauge.

Posted by countrywool at 7:57 AM EDT

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Just when my knitting was getting organized and manageable, along comes another request from Betsi for a sweater I don't normally design for: a cardigan. But a FABULOUS yarn is now in stock here and it would be terrific for what she has in mind, so I am tackling it. 

The yarn in question is Venezia, a lovely, wear-next-to-your-skin merino wool and silk bulky yarn that is crying to become a soft cabled sweater. The color she picked is medium navy blue. 

She has plans for a unique shape that would include an offset single clasped center with a deep shawl collar, along with flared sleeves. I have found a few shapes that are close to what she wants: 

...this pink one has the wrong sleeves and no cables, and is too short, but the body shape and closure line is good.

...this brown one has the cabled look I want, although the rest is not good.

...this natural colored one has the right shawl depth.

So, my job is to put all three ideas together in a sweater. Sounds easy enough. Stay tuned. I plan to write this pattern on the blog so it will be free for all. (And it may end up BEING a free-for-all!)

Next post: cabled gauge swatches that make a knitters' heart sing. 

Posted by countrywool at 1:35 PM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 5 September 2006 1:37 PM EDT

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It is always an act of faith for me when I knit to make a specific size in a new yarn. I gauge and swatch and gauge and swatch and wash and block many hats before I settle on a "blocking ratio" change. Two stranded color knitting can change size dramatically after blocking. Yarns vary in their elasticity. And, most importantly, knitters vary in their tensioning systems while they knit with two strands of yarn at the same time.

I have discovered that "I" will gain about 1.5" of width and an inch of length when I block Dale's Norwegian wool HEILO yarn. (This on a child's sweater). This discovery took quite a few hats until I was satisfied I was consistent. So, I knit my desired sweater 1" shorter than I wanted (1/2" in the body and 1/2" in the shoulder) and used a WORKING GAUGE of 6.5 sts=1", rather than the 6 sts=1" that measures in the final washed hat.

The final result:

The washing method I use for blocking: use HOT water and a tablespoon of your favorite shampoo. Soak for 20 minutes. Lift the sweater out of the basin carefully and let drip. Run hotter water in the basin, gently squeeze the drips out of the soapy sweater and immerse in the hot water, letting soak 10 minutes. Remove the sweater and carry to the washing machine. Turn off ALL water valves so no water at all can enter the washer. Set the washer for SPIN, and if you can, a gentle cycle. Spin for about 10 minutes. 

Find the measurements desired in the beginning, and lay out your sweater, front side down, on a thick towel or clean bedspread, using a yardstick to move the warm knitting around to your specifications. Leave the sweater alone for 6 hours, then turn it over and repat into size. Let dry at least a full day (more if you are in humid air).

Just a note on the construction of this sweater; I am CONTINUALLY DELIGHTED with the tidy shoulder lines that circular knitting brings to any garment. It is a challenge to get all the patterns centered as you join body and sleeves, so that the patterns decrease in a pleasing and balanced way as you knit around up to the neck. I find writing patterns for these designs to be incredibly challenging (which is part of the fun), but the smooth knitting that results is rewarding.

This sweater is one of 3 designs that will be available at the Cape Ann Faroe Sweater Knitting Retreat next March, in sizes 6 months through Men's XXXL.

Posted by countrywool at 8:29 AM EDT

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Having spent the last 2 months vacationing from blog writing (among other things) I have returned to tackle my favorite knitting topic: blocking.

In the Knitting Doctor Sessions I run here at Countrywool once or twice a month, the effectiveness of blocking has to be one of the biggest surprises for most knitters. What is there about hot water and soap, along with flat drying, that creates such harmony and unity in a natural fiber garment? How is it that your so-so knitted project can blossom and align itself in a most professional manner after a few simple steps? 

Above you see the finished Kid's Faroe Blossom Sweater (one of the featured patterns at next year's Cape Ann Faroe Sweater Knitting Retreat ) BEFORE BLOCKING. I will now wash it and post the next picture when it is dry, along with a full explanation of how I go about it. 

Posted by countrywool at 8:35 PM EDT

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