There are still a few spaces left the afternoon session of our “Fixing Your Mistakes Class” this Saturday Sept 21, from 2:30 to 5:30!
Fixing Your Mistakes
A KnitHow Class with Lynne Sosnowski
There’s nothing under earth and sky that will keep us from making mistakes, it’s just part of human nature. But when it comes to knitting, there are lots of things we can do to prevent mistakes in the first place and then other tricks we can use to keep small mistakes from becoming big disasters.
This KnitHow class starts with learning how to read your knit fabric – we first brush up on how stitches should look and line up so we can prevent a mistake as we’re knitting. We then look at pattern reading and understanding, so we can know what we’re meant to do before we do it. We have lots of strategies to explore to help us stay on pattern. We will practice counting stitches and rows, and get a working understanding of gauge. Once we’ve done some actual knitting (small homework requirement), we will look at diagnosing our mistake, and we will talk about cosmetic versus structural remedies. Then we will work our way through fixes for the most common mistakes including: dropped stitch, slipped stitch, twisted stitch, accidental hole, split yarn, purl instead of knit and vice-versa. We will continue with “disaster management”, including learning how to unknit small amounts as well as when and how to rip out sections of a piece.
Class deposits are non-refundable. Knit-O-Matic requires at least 72 hours notice of your cancellation before the start of the class in order to transfer your class deposit over to another class. Students who cancel less than 72 hours before the start of class or do not show up for the class will forfeit their class deposit.
If you’re looking for a quick sweater to whip up before the fall weather really hits, this is IT! The Carbeth Pullover uses chunky weight yarn, 6mm/US10 needles, so it goes fast! The design is simple, elegant, and makes for a very easy to wear sweater with a little bit of interest in the details. It’s easy to change the measurements (make the body longer, make the neck longer or shorter, etc). We used the same yarn, Cascade Eco+ Peruvian Tones, but in a more interesting colour, 08 Rum Raisin (in the skein it looks brownish, but knitted up it looks more like an oxblood/dark red). We tried out the black/grey colourway last December when I made a Carbeth Cardigan, but I think it’s time to get some colour back into our lives!
Yarns
We used Cascade Eco+ Peruvian Tones, which gave it a contemporary look for a great price (the project used less than two skeins, and came in under $70). I’ve also seen it made a few times with Cascade Eco+ Merino, which is a softer merino wool, has more body and definition and still comes in under $76. If you need something machine washable you can’t go wrong with Berroco Vintage Chunky.
Mods
The pattern is a cropped style and we added one inch to the length of the body. I think if I was to make one for myself I’d like the neck longer – I like it all oversized and cozy.
P.S.
Many thanks to our sample knitter Tessa, without who I could not keep up with the hard work of inspiration.
Way back at the start of August I wrote about a neat fall-ish project, The Shift, and I finally finished mine! I asked you if you thought I should try out someone else’s colours or go my own path, and I think everyone (including me) was in agreement that I should trust my intuition, so I did. I chose 3 colours that I thought would work, crossed my fingers, knocked on some wood, and set to work. At first I was thinking “I don’t know about this …”, but as the project progressed I saw what was taking place and it was AMAZING!
How I Chose Colours
The pattern is always alternating 2 colours: one works as a background and the other is the dots in the foreground. The background colour will stand out more than the foreground colour. I found that colours A & B ended up being the dominant colours, and C was used mostly for the foreground/dots.
I picked three colourways that looked like the colours could work together. One had reds, one was neutrals, and the third was dark things and a bit of greens.
One colourway was darkish (colour A, one was medium in its brightness (the red, colour B), and the last was lighter (the neutrals, colour C).
An interesting thing … as I was working I realized that colours A 2328 & C 2349. could also work really well with a cool colour for B, like the blue of 2362 or the green 2298.
The Yarn’s Performance
Schoppel Edition 3 was beautiful to work with and the finished piece looks and feels gorgeous. The designer, Andrea Mowry, has a sweater pattern named Shifty that can be made with the same yarn, and I would totally, unequivocally do it! Mowry suggests going down a size in the sweater pattern if you are between sizes, and I think that is perfectly feasible with Schoppel Edition 3 because it stretched easily when I blocked it.
Addenda: to test the tension in the round I think I would try making a Shiftalong Hat first, as a swatch for the sweater. Measure the tension before and after blocking to get a good idea of how much change you can expect. Reviewing the comments of finished projects, you might end up going down a size (or more).
The yarn was very, very soft, and will be absolutely no problem wearing against your skin. It comes in balls, and I found that rewinding them into cakes on a ball-winder made them easier to work with. I also used my old Pantyhose Hack, which kept things more orderly. Since you’ll have 3 colourways going, I suggest using 3 different colours of pantyhose or Yarn Sleeves.
Worn backwards
The Pattern
The pattern wasn’t hard, but I did have to pay attention to where I was and keep track of my rows. To do this I used a row counter and made notations in pencil on my pattern. If you find that confusing you may want to put the info into a spreadsheet program to keep track row-by-row.
The stitch pattern is a slip stitch, and on a few occasions I had to tink my work a row or two when I wasn’t on the ball. It is not a project to do while distracted (ie. drinking).
I was going to take a picture of the finished piece laid flat. Unfortunately, I forgot and seamed it up! So I’ve used some photo magic to give you an idea of what the full piece looked like.
Front & Back
Here is The Shift, all seamed up and ready to go. I think the pointy part is supposed to be worn in front or to the side.
Conclusions
The yarn was great, the pattern was great, the finished project was great! I recommend it and I would do it again.
There’s a nip in the air (and my niece & nephew need to be picked up from school on Tuesdays) so we’re rolling out our Fall Store Hours a week early! Starting Monday September 16 we’re back to our regular hours, and we will be open again on Sundays and Mondays.
Changes
We have someone new in the store! Erica will be working on Sundays and Mondays, so please give her a warm welcome and introduce yourself. It will take her a little time to settle in and get up-to-speed, but she is sweet and lovely and awesome and I know your are going to fall in love!
Additionally, the Sit ‘n Knit will only be on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons this season (see times below).
Fall/Winter/Spring Store Hours
Monday: 11 am to 6 pm
Tuesday: 11 am to 6 pm
Wednesday: 11 am to 8 pm (Sit ‘n Knit 5 pm – 8 pm)
This issue of Laine is a Presale and will be available and ship on September 20, 2019.
We’re proud to stock, and be a supporter of this GORGEOUS Nordic magazine, written in English. This magazine normally sells out, so reserve yours early! Unfortunately, Laine has not yet revealed any of the projects or a summary of the contents of the magazine, so we’ll all just have to wait.
This issue of Pompom will be available August 30, 2019.
PomPom Quarterly is a top quality, curated book published by independent designers. The patterns are always gorgeous, and the books themselves are lovely, the kind of inspiring publication you love to have on your coffee table and NEVER rest your mug on.
Fibre Co One Sweater is a classic. It’s a timeless, gender-inclusive (unisex) knit – it will NEVER go out of style. Take good care of this sweater and you’ll have it forever. It’s knitted in one piece from the top down with a raglan sleeve. It has a little bit of short row neck shaping to make the fit comfortable (I hate it when the back of a sweater rides up). The pattern is offered in a broad range of sizes, from age 1-2 through to a 56” chest circumference. It also includes the option of a shorter or longer length for the adult sizes, and they included the extra yardage (I love these people).
Skill Level
This is a great project for knitters who are new to sweaters, as well as those who have already been initiated.
If you are ….
New to sweaters: it’s a good first sweater, you’ll learn useful new skills and it’ll give you the confidence to jump into more advanced projects.
Have a little bit of experience with sweaters: this shouldn’t phase you, and it’ll reinforce the skills you already have.
Experienced at sweaters: it’s great for those who want to go on autopilot and make something simple and timeless.
This is normally a paid pattern ($9 USD/$12.50CAD) but The Fibre Co is offering it for free through stores when you buy the yarn for the sweater (Fibre Co Cumbria). Just ask us in-store or when you check-out online.
Yarn
Let’s talk about the YARN. Fibre Co Cumbria is a traditional style British yarn, and at first glance it doesn’t look substantially different from other classic-ish string from the UK? What makes it special? Good question … it involves a story. A little while ago I decided to start exploring a different way to buy yarn for the store. Instead of making sure a yarn ticks a bunch of boxes of client needs (which I do still take into account), I decided to base my initial decision of how the yarn feels to knit with – ie. how ENJOYABLE it is.
So I started swatching and rating my enjoyment level during the process of working with the yarns. It has been a VERY interesting process. There have been a lot of gorgeous yarns that I thought would be great while in the skein, but once I cast-on they felt Meh, or worse, Yucky. Life is both very short and very long, and if I’m laying down my money for a pricey yarn I don’t want to work with Meh or Yucky. I want something that SINGS, something that brings me JOY. Furthermore, I don’t want you to either. There’s already enough Meh and Yuck in our world, I don’t want to spread more, I want to share Joy. It’s time to bring-back joy.
Anyway, I’m sure you’ve already read between the lines and figured out that The Fibre Co. Cumbria was one of the yarns that absolutely SANG. I think I even swatched it twice, on separate occasions several months apart, and still had the same happy reaction. It was beautiful to work with, and I enjoyed it so much that when I ordered it I bought an extra bag to make a sweater for ME (if you want my yarn I’ll share it, I know where to get more).
Keeping your hands warm is one of the best reasons to know how to knit! Mittens and fingerless mitts are one of those great projects that knit up quickly enough to make great gifts out of a small amount of yarn.
Using the same tools and yarn we will use for our adult mittens, this class begins with working a mini-mitten to cover all the steps including casting on for a small diameter in-the-round, working ribbing, placing and shaping a thumb gusset, using stitch holders or waste yarn, shaping with decreases, closed bind-offs, picking up stitches and darning ends. Students will work through a cuff and thumb gusset of a mini-mitten in the first class and will have an opportunity to work the same stages on an adult mitten as homework. The mini-mitten will be completed in the second class, and students will have all the information to complete their adult mitten on their own time. Students will have the option of making fingerless adult mitts or full mittens. Students are provided with a multi-size pattern for worsted-weight mittens and may choose to use either double-pointed needles or two circulars in class.
Prerequisites: Students must be able to knit and purl independently, to distinguish knit and purl stitches in their fabric, and should have some familiarity with basic knitting terms.
