Archive For November, 2011
I’m pleased to report that my last Nuna swatch has finally finished drying, and it measures 23½ sts per 4". I figure that’s close enough to the target of 24: if my Swirl turns out a tad larger than intended, so be it. Now all that stands in the way of diving into the Swirl […]
After fulfilling my MDKR on my shawl today, what did I do? A. Keep going on the shawl. B. Start winding skeins for my next Swirl. C. Make progress on any other WIP. D. None of the above. Yup, you guessed it: D, none of the above. Instead of turning my attention to any WIP, […]
Speaking of never having enough yarn or time to play with it, look what came in the mail yesterday: Yup, it’s a bag of Mirasol Nuna, destined to become a Swirl. I’ve done enough swatching to know that its blend of wool, silk, and bamboo has just the right balance of bounce, drape, and sheen. […]
The new Knitcircus is out – have you read it yet? Some of my favorite designs include the Confection Hat and the French Roast Cardi: each is a smart blend of texture and construction. And Sandrilene has a sweet cable detail along its neck opening. Then there are the yarn reviews. I’d like to fondle […]
A couple weeks back I talked about the notion that you can get a looser cast-on edge by casting on over larger needles or over two needles held together. Nope, not true, I said, not for a long-tail cast-on: you get big, sloppy stitches but the tail yarn limits the cast-on edge’s ability to spread […]
XRX has posted the class schedule for Stitches South – and, jeez, it’s jam-packed again. I’m looking forward to teaching some of my favorite classes. Two of ’em are new to Stitches South: Bind-off Bonanza and Socktastic Stitch Patterns. Registration opens at 9am Central time on the 22nd, so you have a whole week to […]
Crazed
By JC | November 14, 2011
All last night I kept dreaming* of “hexipuffs,” the little hexagon shaped units of the beekeeper’s quilt. How I’d knit them. How I’d stuff them. How I’d arrange the colors. How I’d connect them together. Apparently, my subconscious really, really wants to knit some hexipuffs. My conscious, however, really, really rejects the idea of knitting […]
Blocking my Swirl swatches revealed something odd. Going Green calls for 24 stitches per 4" using 3.75 mm needles. With the Mirasol Nuna swatch, using 3.75 mm needles gave me 22 stitches per 4". Going down to 3.5 mm needles for the String Theory Selku swatch got me a little closer: 23 stitches per 4". […]
A few days ago, the shawl reached the point where it needs to be contained – not so much to keep floppiness in check, as with some other projects I’ve done, but to keep the bottom edge of the shawl from getting ratty. Simply keeping the lower portion of the shawl contained is protecting it […]
sigh
By JC | November 11, 2011
The Estonian shawl remains at the top of my knitting basket, but I’m still finding bits of time here and there to swatch for my next Swirl. So far, the swatching has been fun mindless knitting, a nice counterpoint to paying close attention to the Estonian lace. Here’s the rub: it seems I’m not quite […]