Knitting Pharm

Book review: Stunning Stitches

Jen Lucas, you make me very happy.

I remember the first time we met, it was 2009 and we were all at Sock Summit in Portland. You were still Jen Hansen, and you had not yet begun writing ridiculously accessible books for knitters. Then you did, and you got REALLY good at it.

This one is the best yet.

If you're looking for a book that will meet you where you are, this is it. Jen has taken each of seven pattern families and designed three accessories of: scarf, hooded scarf, infinity scarf,shawl, shawlette, poncho, cowl, dickie, cowl, cowlette and stole.

Who knew there were so many neck coverings to make?

The patterns themselves encompass simple texture, lace, colourwork, slipped stitches... with a little imagination, there are far more than 21 options that present themselves. For stash busting purposes, this book gives multiple options that could be used to blast through small amounts of yarns. All yarn weights are represented. This is versatility at its best.

Jen assumes some basic knowledge and provides a small technique section to fill in the gaps. Knitters of "experienced beginner" level and up will find something, learn something, and make something special.

Here are a few pieces that caught my eye:

Thank you to Martingale for providing me with an electronic copy of Stunning Stitches for the purpose of this review.

 

This blog is not dead

Just for fun, today I poked around online, wondering if my blogging friends had gone as silent as I had.

Many, many of them had.

I have pondered abandoning the blog for a number of years, but something keeps me from pulling the plug. So here I am.

When I first got started, I needed a blog because I was about to publish my first knitting pattern. This was before Ravelry, before Facebook, before there were so many places to record projects, musings and rants. I had two tiny kids and two healthy parents.

In the ensuing decade, I have published more patterns, had the chance to teach in some amazing venues, and done behind-the-scenes knitting on some incredibly cool projects.

My kids are now 12 and pushing 14. The younger is a serious dancer and has a creative side that encompasses choreography, knitting, drawing, painting and more. The older is an incredibly accomplished competitive swimmer, with physical strength and the strong will to match. In case it needs to be stated, I am still married to their father, 21 years now and counting.

I have said goodbye to both of my parents now. I work in cancer care at the local hospital. I have a paralyzed foot from a series of back surgeries several years ago, but I am happy and healthy.

Want to see some of my hidden work?

Look for a gold, hooded sweater.

Look for black cardigans on the women.

An oldie but a goodie, check out the shawl on Grace!

And please stay tuned. I'm just getting started.

 

A tall order

When you're seen in public knitting socks as often as I am, you get asked about doing custom orders A LOT. Very few of these queries ever reach a knitted conclusion. This was a pair that was meant to be.

J is a friend who understands the value of making things. She's an artist, an activist, a businesswoman, and an all-around fine person and friend. When she requested knee socks, "whatever you come up with", I was happy to oblige. Having acquired a large amount of Opal sock yarn at a post-holiday sale last year, I even had enough of the perfect yarn.

This is where knitting toe-up is a major perk. I cast on each sock at the toe and went just as long as I could, producing a generous length leg and cuff that can be pulled over the knee, scrunched or folded down over a boot. Perfect for walking her dog or a weekend in the camper. For my impossibly sweet friend, a truly practical pair of socks. And oh, the leg shaping! I loved working the increases and the way they branch off from the centre line. For such a large project, the time really flew.

What big fun have you been creating lately?

J's socks ~ 100 g Opal Van Gogh per sock ~ 2.25mm needle, stockinette foot, 2x2 ribbed leg

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Brilliant Bridgefield

My love of CustomFit (and its creator, my friend Amy), is no secret.

Last summer's road trip included the usual cast of yarn store characters, including Grace Robinson of Freeport, where I picked up a large lot of deeply discounted Rowan Calmer. (Discontinued? Say it isn't so!) As well, I was able to make a first-ever pilgrimage to WEBS, whose reputation as a must-see is most deserved.

While this shell-shocked and overyarned knitter somehow left WEBS with nary a purchase, I was able to meet up with Amy and pick up several still-secret (pending publication) projects I had agreed to undertake for her.

It seemed only fitting, then, that I would turn my sweater lot of yarn into a garment from one of Amy's designs. Behold, Bridgefield:

A cushy, soft, comfy yet fitted, delight. Pattern generated for my gauge, my measurements.

Double moss stitch, front, 2x2 rib trim.

And masses of stockinette, from the elegantly shaped back to the perfectly capped sleeve.

This one instantly became a wardrobe staple for me, being a big fan of the jeans-sweater-boots uniform for the cooler months.

In fact, as we prepare for a winter storm here on the Canadian East Coast, I feel prepared. Armed and...

fabulous.

 

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A box, a box, of magical socks

I forget sometimes that, as a knitter, one invariably end up as someone's knitter.

When preparing for the Christmas holiday, I realized that in the six(!) years since my beloved mother's passing, that someone has been sorely missing his hand knits. And given that my dad is the man who has everything and needs nothing, something hand crafted was the perfect way to go.

If you plan on doing something similar, be sure you know the sizing and rough proportions of the feet for whom you're knitting. 100 hours is a long time to invest in knitting the wrong size. Fortunately, I hit the size mark this time. Not my first rodeo, my friends.

All of the pairs are knitting toe-up, one at a time on a 2.25mm needle, magic loop style. All use my Toe up Socks for the Stubborn template for a nicely fitted flap and gusset construction. I used an assortment of wool/nylon blends for durability and machine washability. Think Opal, Kroy, Lion Brand and the like.

And, since, you'll ask where such a cute, kicky box came from, it was the box my flat iron came in, when I had slightly longer hair. And it just barely fits a week's worth of socks, though there's something really nice about a box that's quite literally busting at the seams with hand knitted goodness.

Behold, the box:

And the contents!

 

Have you taken on any Big, Hairy, Audacious Projects of late?

Exactly what I wanted

I've worked with Amy Herzog for some time now.

I first met her at Sock Summit 2011, rapidly befriending her and fellow Boston girls Caro and Stitchy.

After my strong showing in the Fastest Knitter event, she took me aside to talk about a super-secret project. This was to become the wildly popular Knit to Flatter, released with much-deserved hoopla in 2013. I worked several of the samples for the book, as well as a collection of garments for Amy to wear for her book-release events.

In that time, I got to know the book and appreciate what it had to offer. I also learned to make perfectly sculpted, adapted to measurement, well-fitted garments. For Amy's body.

Mine remained an elusive target, until Amy released CustomFit into the world.

And then...

Scoop-necked cowl in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Yaksi
size: me all over
Pattern inspirations: Chimera cardigan (Amy Herzog) and Stoker pullover (Caro Sheridan)

 

Amy's manifesto reads like the dream of every self-esteem expert, except you really, truly trust and believe her. If your clothes don't fit, it's their fault. Not your body's fault. Regardless of size, your body has a shape that you can dress to its best to make a visual impression.

I started with an accurate set of measurements, and a gauge swatch, neither of which is negotiable. From there, I generated a CustomFit pattern for a scoop-necked, average fit pullover. I then added the stitch pattern and trim of my choice dreams. For the bargain price of $9.99, my pattern was generated for my body, to fit and flatter.

Well-played, Amy. I liked you from the moment I met you. I can scarcely describe my feelings for you when I wear. my new sweater.

Book Review: Sock Yarn Shawls by Jen Lucas

I first met Jen Lucas at Sock Summit in 2009. By the time the second Sock Summit rolled around, she was signing copies of Coffee Break Knits, a collaborative collection released by Kollage Yarns. When she announced a book was in the works, I was excited. When I found out it would be a shawl book, I was downright giddy.

Sock Yarn Shawls was released by Martingale in January of this year, and is available both in print and online here. The kind folks at Martingale provided me with a complimentary download of the book for the purpose of this review.

For anyone who has been knitting shawls in the era of Evelyn Clark and her wildly successful Knitting Lace Triangles publications, you will, having a basic understanding of triangular shawl construction, be able to dive right in to the patterns within this book. Every knitter will want to.

Beyond the basic top-down triangle, Jen has provided a number of variations. Allover lace, lace-edged, patterning worked from both sides, changes in depth and shape, and two-colour pieces. If you're anything like me, you're easily seduced by handpaints, and have a stash busting at the seams with delicious single skeins. This book would provide an excellent means of burning through stash, trying out new and unique fibre blends and enjoying the various colours in your yarn stash.

Jen also gives excellent guidelines on yarn selection (both colour and fibre) and garment size adjustment, as well as all-purpose knitting and finishing tips.

I imagine I will eventually knit my way through the entire collection... should the same urge strike you, be sure to share your progress on Jen's Ravelry Group. Until then, some random pieces of inspiration for you:

Knit East 2013 - St. Andrews, New Brunswick

I am thrilled to be teaching at Knit East this fall. This is the second time the good people of Cricket Cove have gathered knitters at the beautiful Algonquin Hotel, and this first time I'll be participating.

I'll be teaching a combination of old and new classes. Toe up Socks for the Stubborn may be known to some of you, and anyone who knits with me knows these are the methods I use for all of my socks, be they plain Jane, wildly patterned, or somewhere in between. This class was offered at Sock Summit in 2009 and 2011.

Easy Reversible Lace is a fun, versatile way to make scarves and wraps, and the techniques within that class were used to produce my Rosy Rings (Alpacas Magazine) and Tesla (knotions.com) patterns.

Know Your Toes is offered in two formats, cuff down and toe up, and explores 4 toe shapes for gorgeous socks. Below are the class samples for the toes that will be worked in class. Worksheets will be provided to ensure the student is able to apply these methods to any sock, any size, any gauge.

And to show the detail, a couple on them from the straight-on toe view.

Other teachers include Susan B. Anderson, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Bristol Ivy, Mary Jane Mucklestone and Ann Budd. (I can't explain the good fortune I have to be included in that group, and find it best to not ask the question.)

Other events include yoga, spinning and hooking demos and a marketplace. Will I see you there?

 

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Well hello there, 2013!

It's been a blur of work-parent-knit-repeat.

2013 opened with a really cool opportunity: to attend Vogue Knitting Live in New York City in January. My dear friend, Sandra McIver, author of knit, Swirl! (previously reviewed here) was a headline sponsor of the event, and had TWO all-Swirl fashion shows. She needed a little extra booth help, and given my proximity to the Big Apple, I flew in, bunked with her lovely assistant, Leslie Cumming, and worked the Fine Points / knit, Swirl! booth.

Over the last two years or so, I have gradually fallen into a terrific new role as one of Sandra's primary sample knitters. The demand for appearances has long since eclipsed Sandra's ability to travel, so she has a number of trunk shows that travel when she can't. It's a revolving door of garments that need constant replenishment, so I've been making samples like a mad woman.

Seven of my pieces appeared in the Vogue shows, 30 garments in all, and it was simply amazing.

See footage from the fashion shows here.

Was it all work? Absolutely not. I flew in early enough to take in the Carnegie Deli, Dylan's Candy Bar, FAO Schwarz and Wicked on Broadway (a longtime obsession). Buckets of fun and very, very busy.

Much more to come, at least two book reviews and lots more. Happy May to all!

The tale of the (possibly not-so-) secret bicraftual

I'm not sure if it's a secret that I'm a former crocheter who still occasionally hooks on the side.

I learned to knit first, then discovered that the mad speed of crochet was a better fit for my pre-teen need for instant gratification. As a leftie, I had to learn first by watching my mother, who was very skilled in the area, then trying to mirror her movements. It wasn't so hard. The first big project I can remember was, at 13, when hospitalized for a freak infection - a set of crocheted flowers for the nurses' station . This was followed by a grannie square lap afghan that, only a year later, gave great comfort to my grandfather in his final days.

Through the years, I have always come back to crochet: an edging here, a small project there, even an afghan-selling spree in the late 1990s that resulted in a wrist injury. My poor extremities can't take the strain of crochet for long stretches, but it sure is fun to come back to once in awhile.

A few months ago, I was approached by a friend of a friend about the possiblity of making blankets for her daughters. She had seen a pattern on Pinterest and wondered if I could do it. I had her purchase the pattern for me, then mulled it over for a bit. Then I remembered my favourite mercerized cotton at Halcyon Yarns in Bath, Maine. Then I had a trip planned, and behold! I had yarn, I had pattern, and I had a plan.

And now, 379 flowers later, dear little Addy will have her blanket.

It's bright and cozy and HEAVY. And the next one, for her sister, has already been started.

Hook on, my pretties.