Bobblephobia

April 18
There have definitely been certain techniques in knitting that I have avoided. Either because I don't like the way they look or because they are too fiddly! Color work is definitely fiddly. Especially Intarsia with all the little balls every where!!The finished item is often worth the extra effort though. I don't care for stranded color work because the strands are messy. Fair Isle is fun but very challenging. I struggle with keeping a flexible fabric that isn't too tight. Then....there are bobbles. I'm kind of a bobblephobe. Finding a place where a bobble will be attractive is difficult. Texture can be very effective in a garment but too much texture can really ruin a silhouette. Bobbles are a lot of texture! My goal is to work through all of the techniques that I avoid to add to my skill set. Bobbles will be my first adventure! I'd decided that I would use Barbara Walkers instructions because she is a genius! I found that they were still “too bobbly” though. So I modified the instructions. When I got to the stitch I was going to make a bobble in I:
K1,yo,k1 into the same stitch. Turn. P3. Turn. K1, yo, k1, yo,k1, now complete the row.
On the following row, when you get to the bobble sts, wyif (with yarn in front) sl1 purlwise, let yo drop, sl1 purlwise, let yo drop, sl1 purlwise. Now slip the 3 purl sts back to the left hand needle and purl them together through the back loop. That’s it a bobble!
I’m going to look through all the different techniques…and maybe try them all. The first step in over coming your fears is facing them!!

Transitions...where does wool fit in?

I spent 5 hours in the dentist chair yesterday! 5 hours! Normally any time I am forced into an inert state...I will sleep. The dentist was way too noisy (we won't get into that) so I spent 5 hours thinking. My mind wandered through miles of yarn and design ideas. Predominantly focused on Spring! The transition to Spring is an interesting time to dress for and knit for. It's unpredictable! You can be cold, wet, sweaty and hot all within a matter of hours. So of course layers are called for. A fingering or DK weight wool tank top is an awesome choice for transition seasons. I will be honest and admit a woolen tank top is too warm for summer...even if it is lace. Cotton and vegetable fibers don't insulate as well as wool so they really are a better choice for summer. Back to Spring and Fall though....keeping your core warm is the secret to a happy outside experience, really! So if you are wearing wool as a base layer, you will be warm. If you throw off all the outer layers and are in sleeveless light wool, you will cool down. Simple! I'm going to share a couple of tanks that I designed for these transition seasons. They are wildly different in design but share a silhouette. It gives you an idea how you can go in as many directions as you want to with a basic shape.
The Goldleaf tank" is actually knit in cotton for Universal Yarns. I had originally designed it in wool ~ so you could go either way with this one, or any of them for that matter. Goldleaf is an "Ode to Woodland Creatures" tank top! The Zelda in Knitscene was a totally outside the box design. It was one of those designs that I was totally in love with, but wasn't sure how it would be received! Zelda was one of two tanks designed with my wild violinist/accordianist/cellist/violaist (and the musical saw) gypsy daughter in mind! The last one (my very first ever published pattern!) is a free download for a hooded tank called La Gitana it means the Gypsy and is also the name of a favorite piece of music La Gitana by Fritz Kreisler

Goldleaf from Universal Yarns

Zelda from Knitscene Spring 2013

La Gitana from Knitty Spring Summer 2010

Weather and Wool and Socks...oh my!

April 12 / 2014
I learned a new word today…pluvial…it means “long periods of wet weather or climate”! I looked it up because “Pluvialphile” was listed on Facebook as someone who loves or finds peace in the rain! That’s me! I get cranky if the sun shines for too many days! I guess it’s my Irish genes or that fact that I've had skin cancer twice. I know that my pasty skin will never have a golden glow. Nope, it’s red, peel, pink….pasty. Living on the West (wet) Coast is perfect. Enough sun to break the monotony of constant gloom, then back to cloud and rain. This area of British Columbia is home to a northern rain-forest, yup rain-forest. Plus we have an ocean! Certainly a lot of wet and that’s what brings us to wool. Wool has an amazing ability to keep you warm even if it is wet. Synthetics just don’t cut it in wet weather. Polar Fleece for example, nice if it’s chilly but forget it if it gets wet. It reverts to its plastic bottle ancestry and forgets to keep you warm. If you keep your head covered in wool, torso and feet the weather doesn't have to stop you. Which is a good thing, because in BC , if you don’t go out in the rain you often don’t go out at all!
I have to admit that even if I don’t like sunshine, I really do like weather! I have a little weather station on my desk that measures barometric pressure, humidity and temperature. A good storm has me at my window…thunder and lightening and I’m out on the street! I know that’s not smart, my husband says I lack a fundamental survival instinct! I love a good wind storm too! Out here it’s measured in nautical miles per hour….that’s “Knots”! So when I designed my latest boot sock pattern with weather, wet and wind in mind, I had to name them “27 Knots”. Why 27 you ask?? Because 27 knots is gale force and if you look at the socks the cable looks kind of like it’s blowing away!


27Knots

I have a blog?

The other day I received a message from someone mentioning that they had read my blog!  Sadly, because I am old and the mind is slipping....I didn't remember that I had a blog.  That was the first shock, the next was "Holy Cow!! Someone actually read my blog!"  I wonder if anyone else has??  It was cause for great rumination as I have not typed a single word in this said blog for about 2 years.  A lot has happened in two years!  So many knitting patterns, so much growth in myself and my family.  I'm not sure I could sum it all up! I'm quite proud of the knitting patterns and designs that I've put out in the last while. I've learned a ton about knitting and my "product" over the past two years.  Here's what I would say are the game changers:

1. I've learned that swatches are NOT for babies!  It saves a ton of time and effort (and math) if you are sure of your gauge.  Swatch in stockinette stitch first, then in the pattern or texture stitch you are going to use.  Then wash and block it!  This is the foundation that the whole design rests on!

2. Test knitters are amazing!  I was hesitant to use test knitters because I was worried (mostly) about confidentiality.  For my self published work, I would say that test knitting is essential.  These wonderful ladies are thoughtful and insightful.  They find errors and passages that are confusing and make sensible suggestions as to how to make the pattern the best it can be.  It feels wonderful to release a pattern and be really confident that it's an error free, enjoyable pattern.  Also, it's nice to have their projects linked!

3. Rejection is ok.  It really is!  It just means that you roll that project on to something new.  I have yet to have a pattern actually die.  Sometimes it takes three or more submission trips before it finds a new home. Plus there's always the option to just self publish!


4. I am learning all the time.  There will never be a time when a new design doesn't add something new to my skill set.  That's what makes it fun.  I don't want to just produce lots and lots of patterns.  I want to try something I haven't done before and share that new skill with other people who maybe haven't tried it either! It makes the whole thing exciting!  Believe me when I say there are a few skills that have changed my knitting life!


Here's a free sock pattern, it's a slip stitch or mosaic stitch (there is some debate). So you can achieve colorwork but only use one color at a time...it's kind of like magic!
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sock-feat