Summer knitting???

The other day I was chatting with my MK friend - she lives in a fairly summer-warm climate - we were discussing summer knitting. Now, to be honest, here in Thunder Bay, I just think of summer knitting as something you do in the summer - like today, it’s the 24th of May and it’s 8C - that’s like 45F - we think a hot summer day is 75F - anyway, my friend was saying that she thinks with this hobby, and her investment, both in time and money, and fairly hot weather over 6 months of the year, she would like to have her machine knit wardrobe extend farther than it does right now. So I was recommending some of my past KNITWORDS patterns I thought would be suitable for her and actually, I realized there are probably more knitters out there who may want to do this.
Our criteria was upper arms covered and a garment that wasn’t too hot to wear in the 90F+ range. Most DK weight/mid gauge stuff is out because the yarn is just too thick and therefore too warm and, although I’ve made many lace cardigans of mercerised cotton, most of them have long sleeves which rules them out.
I mentioned a few things that I have worn in the past when I was in Minneapolis or anywhere in the Midwest for that matter where they have that awful humidity....
Here’s the short list:
1. Tutti Frutti from No 49 - it was a sideways knit lace cardigan with a short, extended-shoulder-sleeve made from 2 balls of Tofutsie sock yarn - I really think it was the yarn that made it so warm-weather-friendly - a blend of wool, soysilk, cotton and chitin (whatever that is!). l felt good, covered, and cool wearing it.
2. Linen Spin, also from No 49 - the yarn again was the key - it’s just a loose, cool-ish coverup, that can be worn over a tank, dress or cami and skirt. The yarn is 100% linen and because the jacket style with 3/4 sleeve is loose & drapey, it’s like wearing a linen jacket, but more casual.
3. Go Vogue - a skirt from No38 - I remade this in black Bramwell hobby - the original is Skinny Majesty rayon and I’ve worn them both many, many times!
4. PurlyGirl from No 45 - a nice, button front sleeveless cardy made from cotton that I wear over a short sleeve tee.
5. Mazatlan from No 45, a short sleeve lace cardy knit in mini dina, a cotton/rayon blend I made for the Mexico cruise I did back then - I’ve had tons of compliments and worn this so much!
6. Wild Side from No 50 - a short sleeve deep vee neck cardy that's been fun to wear!
My final thought was my remake of ‘Let’s Swing Again’ from No 44 - (see blog  Sep‘09 - what's happening) - that black one, I’ve certainly had my money and time’s worth out of it! I decided this would be my new summer re-knit in a lighter colour - I have wool crepe deluxe in sand dune that will be just the ticket - it’s a pretty quick knit - and short, loose and cool! I’ve got the back and fronts done already (I used it as my test/trial/get back to knitting before the seminar thing because it has double bed bands and will get me thinking for the ribber classes!)) - just the top yoke section to do - I’ll show you next week when I get back from the west coast! I think I have the perfect big button for it already!

previews....

Hey, I just found out, the newest Knit’nStyle is out!! Subscribers get it first and then it goes on newsstands around the 25th of May - I don't have a copy yet, but you can see it on their website - check it out at http://www.knitnstyle.com/ ! I have to be honest with you, the only thing I’m really interested in is that my garment looks good and they spelled my name right! And yes, they did and ‘Faux Crochet’ looks really nice (how can you tell I’m a bit of a control freak? - it’s hard not having that option)!! This is an A-line cardigan, 3/4 sleeve, sideways knit on the mid gauge LK150, a hand-selected tuck stitch with loose tension rows - I made it back in February and had a bit of separation anxiety when I sent it off and realized I wouldn’t get it back - I did make it again just to have (didn’t have the same yarn so had to come up with a substitute). I had put it aside and forgot all about it till now!! I'll try to bring it to Portland, but that suitcase is getting pretty full!

Speaking of KnS, I’m working on my next project for the December issue - it’s called 'classic alpaca' 100% alpaca, a DK weight from The Alpaca Yarn Co - http://www.thealpacayarnco.com/ - talk about colour selection! Wow!! and beautiful yarn! If you haven’t treated yourself to an alpaca sweater, it’s time - wearing this feels like you’re wrapped in whipped butter! AND I got it on cone!!! how’s that for treating me right! Instead of 50g balls which would mean tons of ends, they sent me a huge cone with enough for my entire project - guess what? another cardigan, with cables this time.

I was trying to keep my head down and on task - I think I did pretty good - didn’t make it through that whole list - I still have the year-end stuff looming over my head! I admit, I can be a first-class procrastinator when it comes to office work - good thing there is a final deadline or I’d put it off forever.

And, I did get a new dress/coat/whatever done for Portland - not sure what it really is, but I’m going to wear it as a dress. The button front and the vertical lines are totally slimming and I feel taller wearing it, even without the shoes! It is the same shape in the body as ‘geezer chic’, just longer. The elbow length sleeve means being able to wear it while knitting without worrying about catching it. The jury is still out on the ivory shoes - they are perhaps a bit over the top but I do have lots of other choices, trust me!

justified!

Let’s face it - I’ve got wardrobe coming out the ying yang - It’s not like I need anything new - it’s been 3 years since I’ve been to Portland so I’m sure I have lots of stuff to show and wear, but this is Spring - well, it may actually be Spring then (see http://www.pacificallypassap.com/  Memorial Day weeekend in Clackamas, OR)

In case you’ve never been to an MAO seminar, I generally do a mini fashion show in each class. I usually wear a black dress, pretty plain (think ‘My LBD’ from No 52) or a black top and skirt (think ‘Body Basic’, No 43 and ‘Tiers of Joy’, No 47) then, anything I put on over it looks good. As I’m talking through techniques, I put on the garments and show how they look - I guess that’s why you come to a seminar.

I’m used to producing and I always have new stuff to wear no matter where I go - there are 3 weeks before the Portland do so why shouldn’t I have something totally new?
It’s not like I have nothing else to do...here’s my ‘quick’ to-do list:
-finish article for KnS
-finish workshop notes for Pacifically Passap Plus
-do the business end of the business and take to accountant for year end

-get training for the half marathon walk in September

-do the mk conversions for the KnS hand knit patterns
-oil wooden lawn furniture

-cook dinner for company coming tonight
 

So why am I swatching tuck ribs and thinking I need something new for Portland? what the heck? I don’t have to justify it, I can just do it - in the back of my mind, it’ll be one of the Fall patterns!

I’ll give you a few hints - I love the Geezer remake but it’s dark - burgundy - not a spring colour - it does look great with black but it'll have to wait for Fall. I’m thinking that shape, but maybe a bit longer so I can pull it off as a dress, but lighter, colourwise. (I do have some great ivory, high heel sandals, new, never before seen!) Maybe an elbow-length sleeve... that won’t get caught when I’m knitting...and I may as well throw in a few more ribber techniques...did you know you can use a tuck pattern on the main bed and have some tucks on the rib bed too?

I like the deep, full needle rib hem - that's a racked cast-on edge...

Yarn Anxiety

Geezer Chic from No 50 was one of my favourite garments - I loved the shape, style and drape (and the name), but the yarn certainly didn’t stand up to any wear at all, even though it was quite expensive. I’ve kept wearing it, sort of privately, because I still like it - I wore it for my road trip to Indiana last week and it’s so comfy, but I finally realized that I do need to retire it. I had it on the other morning when I answered the door - it was early but not that early! The woman took one look and apologized for waking me up - heck, no make-up yet, but I didn’t think I looked that bad ! Then it dawned on me - she saw my ratty sweater and figured it was a bathrobe or something! Okay, I get the point!
The original was made with a 2/18 wool/silk blend used doubled - most of it is stockinette - so that’s pretty easy, but what really set it off was the bands - full needle rib for the hemline that added just the right weight to hold the stockinette fabric down and add swing to the A-line shape and the front band - a wee bit tricky, knit circular, with great vertical buttonholes - I have to say, the instructions are excellent!!
So, what to substitute?? I decided to go with a burgundy 2 ply cotton, Brittany by Yeoman Yarns - I had just used that yarn for Simple-icity and seeing as it was stockinette, double stranded, figured it was okay to shortcut the swatching process. (With the same stitch count, but more rows to the cotton because of shrinkage, 46 rows as opposed to 38 on the wool/silk, so adding the extra rows will require more yarn.) These cones have been on my shelf for some time - they are the older version of 350g/3000m cones which I always thought to be adequate. The newer put-up is 450g/3850m cones - the original stuff was pretty big cones with tons of yardage - the point is, I didn’t want to be wasting yarn on swatches if it wasn’t necessary.
I made a sleeve and weighted it - 74g. Okay, the back was 196g. It could be close, so no pockets - that will save a bit. All 5 pieces done, just the band left - I did need to make a swatch and wash and dry for the shrinkage factor and I have 40g left on each cone. It’s really hard to tell, but before I got this far, I was consoling myself that the new ‘geezer’ wouldn’t look bad with a black band. I've already taken those killer black leather old man buttons off the original to re-purpose them on this one and make it impossible for me to continue wearing the grey one...if it turns out, I'll wear it in Raleigh!

just call me Miss Conception....

I’m home for a few days...boy, I have no idea how I used to manage seminars, magazine production, knitting and travelling, etc, etc!! I’m worn out!! But it’s all good!
Last week, on my way back from Westchester, NY, I had the day from hell - my flight from NY to Duluth, MN, via Detroit - the scheduled 3 hour layover in Detroit turned into 8 hours (weather delays was the rumour) and the airport was 90 degrees! It was awful - when I finally got to Duluth at 10 pm, no luggage - I still had to drive 200 miles home through rain, fog and deer. I had 2 days at home before driving 800 miles to Peru, Indiana, hoping that my luggage was waiting for me to pick up on the way - it was, fortunately, and this trip was relatively uneventful except for the seminar.
Charlene and her family (the Shafers own the Knit Knack Shop in Peru, IN) sure know how to put on a seminar. They are organized, friendly, knowledgeable and accomodating. It was a great show - thank you for inviting me!
The knitters told me they really missed KNITWORDS magazine; they didn’t know about my ‘Pattern of the Month’; they didn’t know about my blog; they didn’t know I was still knitting and teaching...gosh, there must be more rocks out there than I realized. So, they all promised to keep up with me by reading this (Hi!).
Anyway, I did tell them they should email me privately if they had a question they wanted an answer to - I have never replied to the comments people are allowed to put on this blog because I felt they are just that - comments, and, in my mind, do not require me to respond. The truth, I couldn't figure out how to! This morning I found a ‘comment’ from a lady who was at the seminar in Peru and she even put her name, address, email and phone number on here!!! I deleted it for her because she obviously did not know what she was doing - she didn’t say anything bad but I didn’t know how to edit out her personal information.
PLEASE, if you need to contact me and can't find my email address - it is at the top of any and all handouts I provide at seminars and workshops, go to http://www.knitwords.com/ and click the ‘contact’ button on the top menu and it will bring up an email form that will get to me privately and I will answer. OR, you can click on 'view my profile' here and get the same deal.
One lady told me she figured out why the magazine failed - our pictures were no good. She went on to say that every time she saw my garments she was amazed at the detail and quality of my work and this did not come across in the photos in the magazine. I’m glad I stopped doing that!
I did agree to reconsider the 'pattern of the month' thing, maybe for the Fall - please keep checking back! Thanks for reading! See you in Raleigh!

it's all about the shoes...

The final Patterns of the Month are finished and are going out email today and tomorrow.  I think these are both great Spring projects!
‘Simple-icity’, the standard gauge pattern is totally stockinette and the article with it has a ton of information about planning your garment and tips for finishing, such as when do you need to add a stitch for seaming or not and of course, those great patch pockets and details like the buttonholes and even tips on sewing on buttons.

‘Two Step’ is the mid gauge pattern - hand transferred lace with a ton of techniques and the article has tips on hand transfers, planning your lace garment and the actual hand manipulations - it fit Agnieszka perfectly and looks great on her - now, she’s my daughter-in-law and I love her, but, look at this picture! While talking on the phone and setting up this little photo shoot, she’s asking what do I want her to wear and I say, oh, just jeans and a black tank and she says, what about shoes? and then she answers herself - oh, I know it won’t matter because you usually chop it off just below the hem. So, there we are, in front of the camera and I’m saying, ‘what the...?’ We are actually the same height!

Anyway, thanks for subscribing - the patterns can be purchased as singles, either as a pdf emailed to you or snail-mailed on a cd. I've had people asking about renewing for the next batch and I just wanted say that this was a trial - limited to the 3 month deal, so I could judge what I was letting myself in for - I hate to say this but the response was rather poor and I found myself again working for peanuts, so I will not be continuing on a subscription basis. I may have more patterns offered as singles in the future - please keep checking back to see what's up. April is a busy month, with the seminars - hope to see you at one of them!

the hood's up...

I had a little time on my hands over the weekend and just couldn’t help myself - I knit the green thing again, for me! I had emailed Sonia at http://www.knittinggallery.com/ and got her to send me some more yarn, but I couldn’t wait - I had a full cone and a bit of Thistledown Silk in this nice, subtle, pale blue shade - it’s the lighter, fingering weight of Touch of Silk and I used it double stranded - this gave the same gauge as the green one.

Now, I always say ‘I can’t make the same thing twice.’ What’s the point? I guess I need to keep experimenting!’ So, I changed up the stitch pattern slightly - added another eyelet to the top of the motif and took out 2 rows of the plain knitting so this one’s a tad more work, not a big deal and it doesn’t really change the garment too much. Overall, not too many people would spot the difference between them, other than the colour.

Now, the green one is a hoodie and I know, not everyone likes hoodies, but have you seen the younger girl’s closet lately? They usually have 30 to 40 hoodies on the go at any given time, so what’s the big deal? Well, anyway, I decided to add the option of a plain neckline for those who don’t appreciate the hoodie fashion statement and I finished mine with the picot band around the neck, but I did knit the hood and once the photos are taken, I’ll be changing it.
The patterns are almost ready - hope to have them out late next week.