thought I'd 'Bounce' this by you...

Did you get any ‘Bounce’ from Sue at BT Yarns? - it was in her last mailer (www.btyarns.com, search word - bounce). It is 75 cotton, 25 poly, approx 2000 ypp, each cone is about 1.25 lb. I got a cone of plumberry because it looked like the colour to go with a printed fabric I recently purchased. It’s a perfect match! Now, in Sue’s information, she said at T8, stockinette, it gave a gauge of 29 sts and 53 rows to 10 cm. That’s kinda weird and led me to think it would be stretchy and the machine wash & dry would ‘shrink’ it up quite a bit. So, I clicked on my Knitwords index to see if there was a match to the gauge and sure enough, I found close matches in stockinette with Denim Bouclé and Balada Stretch, which both took up considerably with washing and drying. Also close was some one-row-tucks in 4 ply wool!!
Okay, next question, how far is this yarn gonna go! My cone was 1.2 lb, so
I had 2250 yds approx, but what does that mean? In comparing yarns, yardage and gauge I figured it would be comparable to the yardage of 4 ply wool and that amount would be enough for a plain, long sleeve cardigan.
So, I made my swatch. I used T9, so it wouldn’t be too stiff when washed - I still wanted a bit of drape and also yarn will go farther knit at a looser tension. Before washing, my swatch measured 28 sts and 38 rows to 10 cm. After washing and drying in the dryer - oh, who am I trying to kid? I was in a hurry and used the hair blower - it measured 29 sts and 46 rows to 10 cm. I love the shape of ‘Caped Wrapper’ from No 43 (see blogs below, ‘remake of caped wrapper’, ‘cheating at swatches’ and ‘recreational knitting’) but I thought I’d try it plain stockinette without the large collar - that would really be pushing the limit of where 2250 yds would take me.
I made the back first - this yarn knits like a dream - quick, easy, down and dirty! I love it! I weighed the back and it was almost 180g, so I knew it might be a bit tricky. I do like the crossover front and that will take a bit extra, as much as the back again, but I’ll go for 3/4 sleeves that I can turn back a cuff to elbow length, to save a bit. I quickly knit the 2 sleeves, threw them on the scale and I was at 300g. Knit both the fronts and promptly forgot thriftiness in my pleasure at getting all 5 pieces knit in 3 hrs!! I shut things down for the evening, not even looking at the remaining cone, on the floor.
This morning I wanted to knit the bands and get it finished, again forgetting my yardage dilemma. I knit the first front band, using double rib, just like in my original pattern, attached it to the left front and on my last joining row, the tail of the end of the cone came dangling into view...fudge!!!
Oh well, I still had my swatch. I unravelled -or is it ravelled? what is the difference? - well, to be brutally honest, I unpicked the last row, threaded up the tail and knit directly off the swatch! I made narrow stockinette bands for each front edge and the back neck, attached them and I still have half my swatch!! Aces!! Link it together, wash and dry, perfect!!
Oh, one other tip, I put everything together, except to set in the sleeves and I laundered it like that, then put the sleeves in. On a stretchy yarn, I’ve found that doing it this way makes a much better fit of the sleeve into the armhole.

BTW, plumberry is sold out, but the other colours are quite nice...

name dropping

Sorry to keep you all hanging on so long without reporting about my trip to TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association) Market in Columbus, Ohio - been busy working on getting No. 46 together and we’re just about there!
Other than the travelling part - nightmares on NWA (that’s another story) - it was great! This was my first time attending - it’s basically a hand knitting and needlecraft - beads, buttons, crochet, cross stitch, needlepoint, and accessories for all, etc, etc... - show for retailers. The exhibits - over 500 vendors - were so extensive, in a day and a half at the convention hall, I only walked about half of it. My friends - all big-time hand knitters as well as machine knitters - Sonia from FL and Jodi and Ingrid from SC, tried to make sure I saw the most important yarn companies.
My plan was to wear something that would blow away the conception that machine knitting was cheating, cheap, cheesy.... I wore ‘Baton Rouge’ from No 41. First of all, because it’s made from a gorgeous alpaca hand knitting yarn. Second, it looks like a hand knit, but is knit on the LK150, the basic hobby machine that is very affordable and easy to use. Third, the finished sweater is a lovely arrangement of cables, tuck ribs - hand knitters think that’s an unusual use of garter stitch - faggoted lace that adds airy-ness to an otherwise warm fabric, and a great edging they really couldn’t figure out. Fourth, it fits me nicely and suited the occasion. I don’t think I have ever been so closely inspected, but when I told people that I’d made the sweater, blah, blah, blah, the overall response was, like, wow, I had no idea things like that could be done on a knitting machine. They even turned me around to look at the back - I wasn’t sure whether they were checking to see if it was a ‘coffin sweater’ or not.
It was also really great that Silver Reed knitting machines were in attendance at the show for the first time in quite a few years. Knitcraft, Inc, the US importer, had a booth, with the mid gauge machines and they reported a very favourable reception in the hand knitting world as well.
On the yarn front, the luxury yarns were incredible. Alpaca, silk, wool, mohair, linen, cotton, more alpaca!!! The frou-frou scarf crap was not evident, garments were lovely, wearable, beautiful - lots of structured cardigans, set-in sleeves - mixing simplicity with more complicated design details. Still a fair amount of variegated and hand painted yarns but I saw more of a return to beautiful use of quality, natural fibres. Also the button displays blew me away, I wanted them all!! Tons of very large buttons, but, it was only a look-at show, no buying and taking home.
It was fun to meet some of the hand knitting celebs - if I may name-drop a bit here - Lily Chin promised to think about letting us have a stab at her upside-down cardigan; I got to tease Nicky Epstein for stealing my title ‘Knitting on the EDGE’; and I shared a cute, Canadian moment with Lucy Neatby and Véronik Avery. And of course, spending time with my friend Jodi Snyder, who’s hand knit designs have been in ‘Knit ’n Style’ and other hand knit magazines. You go, girl! Who, when she saw my ‘knots of work’, said, ‘why didn’t I think of that?’
Now, I can’t wait for my new Namaste bag to arrive (see www.namasteneedles.com). We all ordered ‘laguna’ in several colours!! Then I can pretend to be a hand knitter - I’m actually going to use it as a ‘carry-on’ bag for travelling, but look for one if you get the chance - they are REALLY nice!

Knots of work

I’ve been busy, swatching, knitting, planning - throw in a bit of pattern writing and some editing. I have a couple of finished projects for the next K’words, a couple of WIP’s (work in progress) and a few ‘waiting for the right yarn to come in’ plans. Every once in a while, I have to put it all aside and do something just for fun or just to get an idea out of my head.
I’m going to the TNNA show this weekend in Columbus, Ohio. It is a trade show for hand knitting and I’m just going for a look-see, no work. It should be a treat! Some of my garments will be there - Knitcraft is having a booth with knitting machines - primarily the LK150 because it should have the best appeal for hand knitters - and they asked me for some things for their display. Anyway, since I sent my best things for the show and it will be June in the midwest ( heat, humidity, hand knits), I was thinking what would I wear? Although I’m not really a scarf person, I’ve had this idea in the back of my head for a while and decided it was time to give it a go. My vision had several colours - olivey greens and burgundy purples - and light and airy...so yesterday, I knit 6000 rows... let me explain!
My plan, such as it was, was to knit a bunch of slip-cords with the mid gauge, in the different colours and then somehow knot or tie them together in a latticework. After making a couple of sketches, I decided 6 cords would do the trick.
2:30 pm. Figuring that I wanted the finished thing to be about 2 metres long, so that it could be looped loosely around neck/shoulders and still hang down in front or back, I knit the first cord, using a DK weight silk/wool with a lovely sheen, on the LK150, 4 sts X 1000 rows. Because I still had plenty of yarn left from that skein, I made a second one, same. I was knitting so fast, it was kinda noisy and I began feeling sorry for my little ‘plastic’ machine, felt I was abusing it...so thought maybe I’d try the next one - a beautiful matte-finish grape linen - on the SK860 (metal bed mid gauge). Duh? what was I thinking?? not much, obviously...it was much easier to do on the LK - the carriage is smaller, so you don’t have to move it as far to clear the working needles each row and it is lighter to push than the heavy-duty 860. I had to stop halfway and go do something else for a while for a rest. Back to the LK, with my other yarns, a fingering-weight avocado alpaca, doubled so it would be equal value of the others - a burgundy cotton/wool chenille, and finally Seawool, a hand-dyed wool and seacell sock yarn from Fleece Artists in shades of amethyst.
I had all six cords done by 5:30, so I watched/listened to ‘Jeopardy’ and played around with the cords, experimenting with knots, figuring that I could mull it over for a few days before deciding what to do. Now, the cords are 6 feet long. The first knot is easy, right...but then what the heck do you do??? a flash from the past! I think I had a vision of my mother doing macramé back in the 70’s. I took the cords down to my cutting table and pinned the ends 3 inches apart. I could use the grid on the table to space the knots and try to keep things relatively even. I made my first row of knots - square knots (I know that’s what they are because it was on ‘Jeopardy’ last week and my answer, ‘granny knot’ was wrong) and working from that end, it was easy. The next set of knots would mean pulling the remainder of the 6 feet through each time. Again, thoughts of Mom saved me. I vaguely recalled her looping up her cords and keeping them bundled with elastic bands - it was fun and I was compelled to finish! By 6:30, my back a little sore from stretching, it was done and I felt relieved. Now I could get back to real K’words work.
So, if you see me at TNNA, and wonder, what the heck is she wearing...
email me for the recipe!

going topless...

so, I went to visit Lindsay (cover of 12 of our issues, the Miss Canada girl, modelled ‘Trapeze Artist’ in No 43 most recently) the other day - she is now the co-owner of ’ Lava Clothing’ - Kerri, (our covergirl of No 43) is her business partner. ‘Lava’ is an upscale, clothing store catering to the younger-with-money - they carry JLo, Ugg, and all the trendy stuff (seven for all mankind jeans at like $250 per pair)...anyway, I had made Lindsay a pair of the controversial ‘fingerless gloves’ or ‘topless mitts’ - whatever you wanna call them - using a yummy amethyst alpaca, and made them a bit longer because I noticed some shorter sleeve jackets appearing. She was ecstatic and kept saying, ‘omigosh! omigosh! wait till you see what we have coming in!!! but these are so much nicer!!’ Apparently, they are all the rage for Fall/Winter ‘08 ...
So, if you’re wondering what to make for craft market and Christmas gifts this year, get to it!!
Here’s my pattern...
Going Topless
Hand warmers, sleeves, whatever...thumb only, fits almost to elbow. Size, ladies 7.
MACHINE - 4.5mm. Level - Beginner
YARN - Fingering weight Alpaca. Finished weight for pair, approx 2 oz/50g.
GAUGE - Stockinette, T8, 27 sts and 38 rows to 10 cm/4 in.
Left Hand - 33-0-34 n’s. Arrange every other needle in work. Cast on WY and ravel cord. RC000. CAR. Holding about 20 inch tail to use for seaming side of hand, MC, T5, K5R. Bring all n’s to work. T10, K1R. T7, K5R. RC011. Pick up loops from first row onto EON. Remove ravel cord and WY. RC000. T8, K2R.
Hand transferred pattern is centred between #24-1 left.
Make faggotted lace stitch on #6 & 19, same stitch is transferred to the right on every second row and to left on every 4th row.
Make 2X2 cable on #14, 13 & 12, 11 n’s, turned same way on every 6th row, beginning on row 4.
At same time, at each side, dec 1 st, K8R, 9X.
Knit to RC089. Set up for thumb. CAL. Set to hold. Take out MC, put aside without breaking. Turn off row counter. Bring all n’s to HP. Move CAR. Return 8 n’s at right to UWP. WY, K10R. Leave the 8 sts in work. Cancel hold. CAL, turn on row counter. MC, knit in pattern to RC112. Drop stitch on either side of cable, ladder down to row 1 and reform to tuck rib by latching every second bar to purl stitch to define cable (this could be done halfway and again at top to make easier to handle).
K1R. Decrease 5 to 8 sts evenly across row. With garter bar, RTR (remove, turn, rehang), K1R, 5X to make 5 rows of garter stitch. Knit side facing you, manually knit loose row and chain off.
Thumb - Steam WY to set sts. Cut WY in half. Open the piece out, purl side facing you, rehang these sts on 16-17 n’s, crossing the two centre sts to prevent a hole. RC000. T7, K14R. K3R of garter stitch (RTR, K1R, 3X). Knit side facing, manually knit loose row, chain off.
Seam side & thumb, using tails to seam, half edge stitch on each side makes flatter seam.
Make other hand in reverse.

BTW, she (Lindsay) said they were multi-coloured as well, so if you're tired of making socks and have any of that variegated stuff hanging around...
Also see KNITWORDS No 35 for Sue Corcoran's 'Starving Artist Gloves' and No 45 for Margaret Heck's version for different ideas of how to dress them up!!

Sunday cooking

Hi! did you miss me? I took a few days off, went to Winnipeg to meet my daughter and shop, eat, visit - we got facials and had an all round good time. Hooked up with my friend Heather and went to Ram Wools - oohed, awed and felt our way around the store - she said that since becoming a machine knitter, she really missed the tactile experience of hand knitting yarns, so we both had a good time. I even scored a couple of buttons to go on my current project (a black and tan wool crepe deluxe fairisle jacket - I'll tell you more about that another day) and what a great feeling when I got home and saw they were a perfect complement - not bad since I had not thought to take a swatch with me!!
So, back in the office, I've spent the last two days going over and editing our updated index. What a great tool it is turning out to be - I love it!! In case you don't know what I'm talking about, we have, on cd, a comprehensive, sortable index of the entire KNITWORDS magazine, all the way from No 1 to 45 (we just added the last year)!! There are 17 categories, from issue number, season, designer, title, etc to really valueable stuff, like yarn, gauge - both machine and swatch, technique, style, etc that make finding something much easier than opening every magazine - I love it because when I'm going to do a project, it's quite easy to find all the patterns I've used the same yarn in and maybe check different details, look up a technique, such as cables and find all those patterns, or see when was the last time I did a raglan!! You gotta get one - no special program is required because it works off your web browser and it's very easy to use. See our bookstore for more info!
Okay, enough of the commercial, I'm cooking today, my family is coming to dinner. We're having steaks on the barby, a couple of salads, rice with fresh salsa, and a new strawberry/caramel cheesecake thing that I'm working on (if it turns out, I'll share it with you). Here's the salsa recipe - I got this from my friend Bob (Sonia's hubby) in Florida - he served it with broiled tilapia - fresh, tasty and healthy!! We loved it!! I tweaked it just a tad...

Fresh Salsa
2 large fresh hot house tomatoes, seeded, drained and chopped
1 med vidalia (sweet) onion, finely chopped
4 shallots, finely chopped
1/4 C fresh basil, chopped
small jar capers, drained and rinsed
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 C olive oil
1 tsp each kosher salt, black pepper

Mix together, cover and let sit at least 2 hrs (the longer the better - I usually try to make it in the morning). Adjust salt to taste. It becomes more liquidy as it sits. Serve on just about anything - grilled or broiled fish, chicken, pork, whatever! Great with Tilapia! OR stir half of above into 2 cups long grain rice cooked in chicken stock. Yum!! makes a great summer dish - warm or cold! OR warm up and serve on pasta - the gnocchi style shells are great!! Tastes even better next day and keeps well for up to a week (like that's gonna happen)!

I can see clearly now..

I think that's a song or they should make it one! I'm so happy I could just knit!!!! I got my new 'work station glasses' and I love 'em!
I have been having some vision problems in the past few years - I did get bifocals about 4 years ago which helped a bit for a while with close-up, hand work but found they lost effectiveness. Last year when I had my eyes re-tested, the optometrist talked me into trying no-line trifocals, aka progressive lenses... turned out not for me - I couldn't get used to them and felt like I couldn't see anything right, near, far or in-between. I'd talked to others who said it took a long time to get used to and most people admit they no longer read or do close work, but they can wear the progressive lenses. Anyway, my friend Ed, the optician came back to town and I was telling him my troubles. He said progressive lenses were the 'four-inch-heels' of the optical world - good for looks only. Anyway, after hashing over the pros and cons of both 4 inch heels and eyeglasses, he said he'd make me some work station bi-focals (with the line) and use the close up and intermediate prescription only. They are so great - I can see the needles and stitches perfectly (9-10 inches - in black too), glance up and see the gauge on the knit radar (24 inches) and also glance OVER and see the computer screen with DAK and knit-from-screen (60 inches) just fine! And who cares about a line in the glass - no one sees me here anyway - not that I was ever that vain.... He also made me a pair of 'golfer glasses' - long distance on top and a small area at the bottom with the close-up prescription - supposedly golfers want to see distance for driving, but need to be able to see close up to read and mark score - works for me - driving and reading a map, whatever... Life is good!!

remake of caped wrapper

No 45 is in the mail, it should be reaching mailboxes any day now. It is filled with great summer knitwear, with something for everyone! Now is my time to take a few days and organize my thoughts and plan out the next issue. I did finish up my re-make of 'The Caped Wrapper' - it turned out very nice and I wore it to deliver a copy of No 45 to Bill, our photograher (see cover of No 34)and got him to take a quick snap of me so I could show you the finished thing - see my earlier post (recreational knitting) for more details - I think the collar shows up better here than it did in the magazine because the colour is lighter - I'm very pleased with it and know I will get good use from it. This yarn is a little thinner than the 4 ply pure wool of the original one, so it makes a nice Spring garment!
I was chatting to Morgan Hicks (see KNITWORDS No 39 & 40) yesterday - he is in the process of opening a new shop in Des Moines, WA, called 'All Points Yarn', featuring knitting machines, yarns, hand knitting and crochet, has a very nice location and is very enthusiastic about his new venture. If you're in the Seattle area, make a trip to check it out, I'm sure it will be worth it -tell him MAO sent you. Morgan is a very knowledgeable fibre enthusiast and it's fun just talking to him about yarn and knitting! Go to www.sweatersbydesign.com for more details or e mail him at allpointsyarn@aol.com. Congratulations, Morgan and best of luck!! I'll see you in Portland in October at the Needle-Tek Fall Festival of Knits!