Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers
We will mostly be using a small crochet hook to add beads to our knits but there is some optional knit in beads in the OakLeaf and Acorn Insert. This downloadable document will give you some basic information on working with beads.
Happy Reading
Lynette
This upcoming weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving and we celebrate it in our home with family and friends and of course, Turkey and all the trimmings. I am getting a bit of a head start today by making the Cranberry Sauce.
I make a big batch because I always need to send some home with a couple of the guests. The recipe is very easy to half if you only need a small batch. This one makes about 8 cups of sauce.
Throw it all into a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 – 12 minutes. I like lumpy sauce – lots of cranberry chunks so if you like it a little smoother, cook a little longer.
Once the pot is off the stove, add 3 tablespoons of Grand Marnier or Triple Sec. Stir into the sauce and then pour into bottles. You can seal them if you like. I usually just pop them into the back of the fridge once they are cooled.
The house smells so good as the sauce cooks.
One of the things I love about this recipe is the colour of the berries mixed with the colour of the peel as it is cooking! It reminds me of one of my favourite Handmaiden colourways – Sangria. The header above is a photo of yarn from Handmaiden dyed with Sangria. Even when I cook I am thinking about yarn! LOL!
Happy Day!
Lynette
Sometimes when you spend a lot of time designing “serious” knits, you know, practical but attractive, maybe someone will think that they could knit and wear it items, sometimes you just need to break out of the mold and play!
I love Christmas – I love Gnomes – so here is a little nod to both!
Meet the Jingle Gnome Chapeau, designed for warmth, but with a little “fun” added! This is a sample for a class happening at Mad About Ewe Fine Yarns. It starts next week, Tues Oct 8 and runs over the next couple of weeks. Three classes in total.
Class # 1 – How to knit loops – link to video – did you know that the loops can be cut and brushed to make a really soft “fur”?
Class # 2 – Basic Stranding – simpler than fair-isle, much more repetitive, but great practice.
Class #3 – How to make the perfect pompom, and some basic finishing – how to deal with ends.
Jingle is knit with Eco Shetland Worsted, which is a light worsted, almost a dk, but I have knit it a few time at the worsted gauge and been very happy with the results. It has great yardage, 1 skein of each colour is all that is necessary. Plus a few jingle bells and the regular notions!
How about that pompom, surrounded by bells? Isn’t just a dream of a finish?
I know you want one!
Happy Gnome “ing”
Lynette
PS. The pattern will be available in about 3 weeks and will include a mitten pattern to go with the Chapeau!
Yesterday I mended the blue sweater cuff. It took about two and a half hours, including the knitting time. Why did I wait so long? I’ve had the yarn for close to three years! Other things kept getting in the way. And I would rather knit than mend! Wouldn’t you?
I am working on changing that attitude within myself.
This sweater was knit in the round. Bottom up for the body, but top down for the sleeves.
At the time, I knew my yardage was limited and I wanted to make sure that each sleeve was the same and that the yardage went as far as possible. Top-down knitting is the best way to make that happen. It worked well for this project. I finished the sweater with only a little of the main shade of blue to spare.
The original yarn was a dk, so I decided to work the cuff with a set of 3.5mm US #4 dpn’s.
Top-down knitting also makes it easier to mend/replace the bits that wear out, like the sleeve cuffs. Had I knit the sleeves from the cuff up I would have had to cut the knitting at the join of the cuff and very carefully retrieve my live stitches above the cuff. That will be a demonstration for another day and a different sweater!
When working with an older sweater, the stitches will not usually run down the knitting in the same way as a garment that you are working. After a certain amount of time the yarn itself has been almost pressed into shape with folds and bends. You can see in the unraveled yarn and stitches at the end of the cuff (4th picture in the sequence) that the shape is set and unwilling to move. A bonus, one that makes the work you are trying to achieve a little easier.
I am very happy with the results. The new blue cuff is not perfect, but perfect enough for a sweater that was knit in 1990, 34 years ago. The neck may be the next piece that needs replacing, I noticed some wear along the back, but that is a problem for another day!
Happy Mending
Lynette
This Fall and Winter and I am undertaking a self taught mending course. I started it yesterday by mending a few moth holes in my favourite vest and what I call my weekend sweater!
I had hoped to work on these things in the summer for a Winter Class but the best laid plans….. So better now than not at all! See On the Mend.
Small holes in our knits can be repaired with a few basic needle felting tools and some fibre. I did not realize how easy this would be or I would have tried it years ago! There are some other methods of dealing with small holes, embroidery stitches offer many options! But this is easy and fast!
The second sweater with a hole was a much simpler project. This sweater is what I call my weekend sweater. I throw it on over when I just need a little more warmth. It was knit with sock yarn when the patterning sock first came out, so about 24 years ago. There was only 1 hole in the back, So I filled it up with fibre and called it done!. I did play around with it a little, added a little bit of an edge and curlicue!
I had hoped to get another sweater mend underway, this one needs a new ribbing at the wrist. The sweater is over 30 years old but still looks great, no pilling and the colours are still vibrant! Well worth repairing, especially as it’s big, boxy style is coming back.
Several years ago I had to replace the ribbing on the other wrist, I had caught it on something sharp and that had broken the bind-off (the sleeves had been knit from the top down – best way when yardage was short). I had used up all of my remaining yarn with that repair. So finding a close colour took a while, then the yarn I found got put away in my stash, so this sweater has been waiting for about three years. You can see in the photo the colour is not perfect, but it will make the sweater wearable again, not bad for a 30+ year old sweater!
Yesterday I put the work in and found the yarn! That took a little time, you know, the needle in the haystack approach! So after looking for the yarn, I did not have time to do the work – but this weekend it will happen!
The original yarn was a wool from New Zealand, gorgeous blues in 4 tones. The pattern was an early Kaffe Fassett pattern in about 36 colours, so I simplified it a little!
I have quite a few other pieces to mend and I want to try many different techniques! So my Fall knitting projects are booking up fast!
How is your Fall planning coming along?
Happy Knitting and Mending
Lynette
… In Paradise
I woke up to the most glorious sunrise. The living room was glowing orange as the light poured in the windows. When I went out onto the deck – the run was rising in front of me and there was a rainbow forming behind me. So awe inspiring.
The Mini Rose also produced a new bloom this morning that is absolutely perfect. The Hibiscus plant has several new buds, so many beautiful flowers. Just an amazing start to the day.
The GreenMan Shawl is progressing nicely. I am about 20% into the Oakleaf and Acorn insert and I am very pleased with the effect of the beads on the knitting.
I have started another shawl for myself. I didn’t really intend on this one. I am not even designing it. If you are old enough you will remember or will have knit a Clapotis shawl. I am more than old enough.
Clapotis can be considered one of the first viral patterns on Ravelry and has over 24000 projects listed. It was designed to be knit with some of the glorious hand dyed yarns that were appearing at that time. It has just been re-released on Ravelry as Clapotis 24. There is an accompanying KAL that features lots of yarny prizes.
I didn’t knit it the first time around, so I am giving it a go with some yarn from my stash. Not hand dyed, but striping and lively, and I was not having any luck designing a sweater for myself with it. I had already ripped back a couple of attempts. The yarn is Lang Cloud Tweed.
Clapotis is designed for a worsted/aran weight yarn (I keep seeing it in some Rios), but is very easy to adjust for almost any weight! The knitting is basic, stockinette on a diagonal, but the addition of the dropped line of stitches keeps it interesting.
Have you knit a Clapotis?
I am also working on another class project. Remember the loopy st? Meet the Jingle Gnome Chapeau. Still under construction, but already looking like a little bit of rustic “happy”! The class will feature the loop stitch, basic stranded knitting and how to make the perfect pompom! I am working with the Eco Shetland Worsted by Estelle. It is yarn that I really like to work with and gives me great results.
I hope that you have a wonderful day. Mine is off to a great start!
Happy Knitting
Lynette
My favourite cast-on is the Emily Ocker Cast-on, also called the German Pinhole Cast-on.
Do to technical difficulties I am going submit a short video and then a series of photo’s on how to start the GreenMan Shawl.
Tools that will make the cast-on easier; a straight crochet hook or a hook/point tool, it simplifies the moving of the sts from the hook to the needles. Wooden or other lightweight dpn’s, they are a little sticky and very light, metal needles are usually quite heavy and slide out far too quickly.
If you have never held a crochet hook I can recommend a simple cast-on;
Cast-on 6 sts to a single dpn, transfer the sts as the photo tutorial below, join into a round and start to work the shawl. The center of the shawl will not be as neat to begin with but when finishing your shawl the tail can be used to gather up and gently close the hole in the center.
In the video you will see the yarn, tail to the right and underneath the working end of the yarn. There is no sound, but the written description is below the video.
Please note: I am not a confident crocheter and you will see that in the video. But that does not mean I can’t fumble my way through a single crochet.
Grasp the ring where the yarn crosses
Repeat from the top five more times until there are 6 loops on the hook.
Below is the step by step set-up and first rounds of the shawl.
Once you reach this point the needles will start to co-operate and the knitting will go more smoothly.
I hope that this helps you start your shawl.
I am hoping to make the video as promised with sound and moving pictures – perhaps tomorrow. Getting my tools to co-operate has been a challenge.
Happy Knitting
Lynette
Have you noticed that we knitters, and almost all crafters, start thinking of Christmas a lot earlier Than other people? I think that we need to as most of our gifts take time, sometimes a lot of time to create.
So today I am sharing a fun technique – Loop Knitting – a little playful technique to add to your skills for the upcoming knitting blitz!
Loop knitting is basically making a series of knotted loops on the right side of the knitting. These loops can be made and left as loops, my current thought, or they can be made, cut open and brushed up to look like fur, a thought under consideration! Loops are not a quick technique, but the results are worth the effort.
Loops need to made on the RS of the knitting surface. If you are knitting back and forth the loops can be make every other row. When working in the round as I am, the loops can be worked on every round. I want a fairly thick, loopy surface.
The loops can be made in every stitch for a very full look. I am making my loops every other stitch and off setting them on every other row, for a medium thick appearance.
Loop knitting is playful and offers some interesting options for hatbands and mitten cuffs. Right now I am working on a hatband. I am planning to knit a swatch and cut and brush out the loops – I am really intrigued by the concept of being able to create the look of “faux fur”!
When starting loop knitting the going will be slow at first. It may take a round or two to develop a rhythm, but each successive round gets quicker than the one before!
I know that this technique would work well for toy knitting. Remember Lamb Chop? I have made a few things over the years with loops on the edges. I think I will try a few more.
I hope that you feel inspired to give loop knitting a try!
Happy Knitting
Lynette
I don’t like to wear hats. It takes a really cold day before I plop a hat on my head. I don’t like the look of myself in a hat. Very few have suited me.
But I like cold ears even less.
So, I finished up the Thrummed Headband for myself. I now consider myself officially ready for Fall and Winter. I have a new sweater… and a hat. Maybe I should make some fingerless mittens in the same colours as the headband? A light grey pair, with multicoloured dots. Ok, almost ready for Winter!
If you want to knit a Thrummed Headband for yourself click here.
The thrumming really intrigues me. It is easy to do and adds an extra layer of warmth. I am thinking that I may need to make myself a puffy vest, double layered with thrums in between. Would you wear something like that?
Yesterday I also knit up a swatch from the Eco Scandinavian Chunky I bought myself last week (for another sweater). I want this sweater to be very colourful and in the Muhu style. This style is from Estonia and features a lot of natural patterns, birds, bees and animals in very bright, not so natural colours. The patterns will be much larger and definitely very visible.
I love my swatch, but I think I need to add some green and maybe some black to make the other brights pop!
Happy Knitting!
Lynette
PS – I am getting so excited! The GreenMan KAL starts next week! In between my other knitting I have been slowly working away at each section of the shawl. It is looking just as I imagined!
On to the next section! Acorns and Oak Leaves!
I hope that you have a wonderful day!
Lynette
