Trish Knits.com

Category: blog

  • Knitting Meme

    Grabbed from Jessica’s Blog:

    *Mark with bold the things you have done, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest plain*

    Afghan
    I-cord
    Garter stitch
    Knitting with metal wire
    Shawl
    Stockinette stitch
    Socks: top-down
    Socks: toe-up
    Knitting with camel yarn
    Mittens: Cuff-up
    Mittens: Tip-down
    Hat
    Knitting with silk
    Moebius band knitting
    Participating in a KAL
    Sweater
    Drop stitch patterns
    Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
    Slip stitch patterns
    Knitting with bananafiber yarn
    Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
    Twisted stitch patterns
    Knitting with bamboo yarn
    Two end knitting
    Charity knitting
    CardiganToy/doll clothing
    Knitting with circular needles
    Baby items
    Knitting with your own handspun yarn
    Slippers
    Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
    Continental knitting
    Designing knitted garments
    Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
    Lace patterns
    Publishing a knitting book
    Scarf
    Teaching a child to knit
    American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
    Knitting to make money
    Button holes
    Knitting with alpaca
    Fair Isle knitting
    Norwegian knitting
    Dying with plant colours
    Knitting items for a wedding
    Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
    Olympic knitting
    Knitting with someone elses handspun yarn
    Knitting with dpns
    Holiday related knitting
    Teaching a male how to knit
    Bobbles
    Knitting for a living
    Knitting with cotton
    Knitting smocking
    Dying yarn
    Steeks
    Knitting art
    Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
    Fulling/felting
    Knitting with wool
    Textured knitting
    Kitchener BO
    Purses/bags
    Knitting with beads
    Swatching
    Long Tail CO
    Entrelac
    Knitting and purling backwards
    Machine knitting
    Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegating yarn
    Stuffed toys
    Knitting with cashmere
    Darning
    Jewelry
    Knitting with synthetic yarn
    Writing a pattern
    Gloves
    Intarsia
    Knitting with linen
    Knitting for preemies
    Tubular CO
    Freeform knitting
    Short rows
    Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
    Pillows
    Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
    Rug
    Knitting on a loom
    Thrummed knitting
    Knitting a gift
    Knitting for pets
    Shrug/bolero/poncho
    Knitting with dog/cat hair
    Hair accessories
    Knitting in public

  • Not Just Another Book. A Historical Record.

    The Opinionated Knitter — by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I would be completely dishonest if I didn’t say that I avoided buying this book for a LONG time. I figured it contained many of the designs and ideas that I’d already seen before in some of Elizabeth’s other books, even if not quite presented the same way. And, until recently, I had begun to believe that some of the ideas that EZ taught in terms of garment design were getting a bit tired. Boy, was I wrong about this book. It contains Elizabeth’s original newsletters from the 50s and 60s in their original form, yes… and for that alone this book stands as an important historical archive. But, throughout the book there are notes and modern photographs that give the time-revered designs a fresh, new feel. I especially loved seeing the schematics and the journal pages in Elizabeth’s own hand. It was as if I was allowed to be a voyeur to a time that I am a smidge to young to claim as my own. I’m sorry I waited on this book. I can’t wait to read it cover to cover.

    As to when that will be? I hoping for a snow day already, with a warm cup of cocoa at my side and the Knit Garter Stitch blanket on my lap. But, I’m getting ahead of myself!

    I promise that this blog won’t be a book review every day, but I was just so excited about this one that I could not contain myself. Did you know Summer of Socks starts this weekend? I’m hoping to have enough progress on my baby sweater by the to put it down for a few and start a sock, just for the occasion. Also, my local Stitch ‘n’ Pitch is this Friday. I really can’t wait, and am very excited that I actually get to go. I hope to see some of you there!

  • Book Review: One Skein Wonders


    Better late than never, right? Today I just got One Skein Wonders by Judith Durant (Ed.). This book contains a likely collection of hats, scarves and little kitsch bags, but is still worth adding to your knitting library. It’s great for deciding what to do with all of those odd bits of leftover yarn from various projects. I bought it for the baby jackets inside, but also discovered an Aran-looking beret that is now on my must-make list.

    I am always looking for something to do with small bits of yarn, so I am sure lots of projects will get their impetus from this book!

  • Baby Sweater Redeux

    beginnings of baby sweater

    Not much, is it? Well… I should have been photographing along the way with my various experiments all week, but it was hot and I was lazy, and so… well… I didn’t. It wouldn’t have made for exciting reading anyway.

    What you see here is the beginnings of my EZ February Baby Sweater. The pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac, and it gives a glimpse into Ms. Zimmermann’s infamous percentage system on a small scale. I like that! Especially since the yarn I have was way thinner than what the pattern was originally designed for, and the lace pattern used in the design just wasn’t giving me a substantially cozy looking sweater in that yarn. I’m a loose knitter, and so my yarnover holes are big, even with small needles, and so it was looking too lacy, and too girly, for this particular project need. (I don’t know the sex of the baby. Therefore, a totally feminine knit is out.) I’ve seen lots of these sweaters online, and many of them don’t look particularly girly, but with this yarn, somehow I couldn’t avoid that overall feeling.

    So this morning when I couldn’t sleep and was up at 5:30 a.m. for no good reason, I sat with my stitch dictionaries and looked until I found something I like. Twin Rib. It’s a standby for me, but I like it. What can I say? I like it.

    (I also used the gauge calculator at this site to help me with my math shortcomings… time will tell whether it worked!)

    So, now I’m doing the sweater with teeny yarn on size 1 needles, at a different gauge with a different stitch pattern. Does that mean it’s the February Baby Sweater at all? Yes, because that’s the beauty of Elizabeth Zimmermann Knitting. It sets you free.

  • Now This Is How It’s Supposed to Go…

    ball of yarn in foreground of photo with wooden swift in the background

    Tonight I decided to be brave and try to wind one of my other Lisa Souza yarn hanks into a ball. My daughter gave me that, “Mom, you’re NUTS!” look as I began to drag out the swift, knowing full well my troubles from the last week. But I knew that the hanks from this one particular colorway of yarn seemed to be more tightly wrapped than the others, so I figured my chances of success would have to be pretty good. I was right.

    My kids both found my new Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder to be a wondrous machine, and enjoyed immensely taking turns at the crank. I’ll have to get pictures of them doing this next time since they seemed to enjoy it so much. I am now happily swatching for my Elizabeth Zimmermann February Baby Sweater from Knitter’s Almanac. (Note to self: I’m using the 3 mm Harmony needles for my swatch. I can’t tell yet, but I think they’re going to be too big. I’m a loose knitter. Wonder how many repeats of the stitch pattern I’ll have to add to make the sweater fit an actual baby?)

    New Baby Knits Book

    BabyKnits Hats & Booties–by Edie Eckman, Bonnie Franz, and Debby Ware. Well, it’s new to me, anyway. I bought it yesterday while at my knitting group at Borders. I especially love the hat and bootie set on the cover, but as a mom of people who used to be actual babies? I’m not sure what I think about the ribbon yarn in terms of safety. I’d probably substitute with icords or something. That said, there are some SERIOUSLY cute patterns in here! Definitely worth a look if you want to knit something cute, and maybe a little fun, for baby.

  • Not Too Hot for a Knitting Day

    winding the yarnbarf into a ball

    It is uncharacteristically hot for this early in June in these parts, and some folks on some of my knitting groups are complaining about how it’s too hot to knit. No! It’s not! I can attest to that. My Bowie group met today for our usual first Saturday of the month meetup. And it was such a good time that most folks stayed beyond the two hours I usually allot.

    Lissa came all the way from the other side of the Potomac to help me untangle my yarn woes! And she stayed at it for about three hours, too. Amazing! The hank was in such a mess though, I’m sorry to say, that even after all that, it still wasn’t done. Oh my, why am I so clumsy with my yarn? Not to worry, though… my dear friend Rhoda volunteered to take it home and keep winding. (She said her daughter actually likes to do these things… I don’t get it, but more power to her!

    Speaking of Rhoda:

    knitting a sock

    She’s back! After having foot surgery a couple of months ago she was finally able to join us again. Rhoda is my main knitting buddy and I have sorely missed getting together with her, as we have somehow managed to do every couple of weeks over the last couple of years. Here she is knitting a sock from some Opal yarn that I covet!

    yvonne knitting shell top

    This is Yvonne, our newcomer for this month. She is a wonderful teacher of amazing second graders, and she is making the fabulous Frock Camisole
     from the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits. Lissa, who had showed Yvonne how to pick up stitches without a crochet hook, really coveted the yarn, which I forget what it is. Yvonne returned the favor by showing Lissa how to do a gusset in the tank top she’s working on (demonstrating with Rhoda’s sock). Aren’t knitters great? This is one of my favorite parts of knitting group–that everyone learns from each other.

    jo knitting socks from her own handspun

    Jo came along and was knitting away on a purple sock (which I, as a lover of all things purple, drooled over). We all practically squealed when she said that the yarn was her own handspun. It was surely gorgeous! Spinning is something that eludes me but I admire people who can do it! Go, Jo!

    marie

    And this is Marie, who brought along a baby sweater and hat that she was working on with some red and white yarn. We all agreed that it would make an ideal Christmas sweater. Now Marie just has to meet some lucky baby to give it to!

    We survived the scorcher of an afternoon with good friends, good air conditioning, and plenty of slushy cold drinks from the coffee shop. I already can’t wait until we meet again.