Close Knitters

Lots of people are knitting for lots of babies.  One of the nice things about working in a yarn shop is meeting all the happy grandmas to be.  For some the yarn shop is one of the first stops they make when they hear that a baby is on the way.

Irene has knit for a lot of babies over the years.  Generally she knits afghans.  There are twins on the way in the family, so there’s a lot of knitting.

Sexes were unknown when she started to knit, so we picked neutral colors.  She wanted simple knitting so it would go quickly.

Big Baby is a favorite for baby blankets- the multi color is pretty, the yarn thick so it works up quickly, and it’s machine washable.

Here’s the first blanket

Blue Green Blankie

It’s a big piece of knitting- simple garter stitch. We thought that maybe it was a little too simple, so it got a crocheted border.

Crochet Shell Border

Crochet shells- six double crochet in each one.  A nice way to dress up an edge.

Here’s the other blanket

Primary Colors Blankie

This one has it’s shell edge, too.

What’s your go to knit for babies?

If you’ve been in the store lately you can’t miss Jen’s baby- or at least her baby bulge.  She’s due in two weeks, and no she doesn’t know if it’s a boy or girl.  She and her husband want to be surprised.

So what does a knitting mom knit for her baby?

Jen's Baby Knitting

There are two sweaters, one afghan, a hat with matching booties, another pair of booties, and a little teddy bear.

Then there are the things we all knit for her.

More Baby Knitting

The blanket in the back was knit by soon to be Grandma Nell, the high top sneaker booties by Inge, the moccasin booties by Phyllis and the orange giraffe by Diane.  The giraffe was the hit of the baby shower.

And another blankie

Close Knit Blankie

This one was a cooperative effort by the yarn store staff- we all knit two squares, and Kim put them together and edged it.

Jen also knit a diaper bag

Diaper Bag

Complete with a bottle holder, she planned it out, knit it, felted it, and machine sewed straps on. Here’s the bag pre felting.

Unfelted Bag

Don’t forget our kids’ summer knitting camps for kids going into grades 5,6 or 7.  Summer is a great time to learn to knit, or to practice what you already know.  Links to the registration form are on the store’s main webpage.

We’re offering summer knitting camps for kids.  Two sessions, one to learn to knit and one for kids who can already knit.  Both will meet from 9 to 11 am, Monday, Wednesday,  and Friday.  That way there is time work on projects between camp sessions.  I Can Already Knit will make a felted holder for a cell phone or I Pod.  These camps are for kids entering grades 5, 6 or 7.

And for older knitters there are Teen Knitting Nights- for anyone entering grade 8 and above.  From 6 to 8 pm, on four Monday evenings.

There are links to registration forms, with all the dates, on the store’s home page.

There are a  couple of sweaters on the needles at the shop.

Renee's Sweater

Renee started her top down raglan cardigan in a class- Start Your First Sweater.  She’s finished the yoke, and wanted a little supervision to set aside the sleeve stitches and get started down the body of the sweater.

Sweater with Pattern

You can see the raglan “seams” in her sweater, and the pattern.  The Pure and Simple patterns are well written, nice for beginners, and have lots of potential to personalize a sweater.  The yarn is Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca.

Arlene is in the midst of a purple sweater with a fair isle yoke.  Here she’s working on both sleeves at one time.  Many knitters like to do two at once- you can make sure taht the increases or decreases match.

Arlene's Sleeves

Both sweaters will be ready for fall.

Vacation!

Depending on your point of view of a vacation, it may mean lots of time sitting on a beach, in a car or airplane, or on a ski slope.  For a knitter, a vacation is time away from the day to day routine of work, groceries, kids and driving.  So you can knit, right?

This was the view for a lot of my vacation

Palm Trees

Palm trees.  Blue sky and water.  And two socks in progress.  Socks are great for travel- they don’t take up  a lot of space and there isn’t a heavy pile of wool in your lap in a warm place.   You can keep them plain and simple, or knit something more complex.  I like to have both, so when I’m waiting for a flight or watching the waves at the beach I can pay attention to something like this

Blue Sock

Knit in blue Trekking, the pattern is from Nancy Bush’s Socks on the Road.  Twisted stitches that don’t need a cable needle!

And for times when I don’t want to pay attention to it, just knit

Gray Sock

The gray sock is out of Louet Gems, which is sport weight and knits up pretty fast.  The pattern is a rewrite of a man’s sock pattern from 1914 which was in the recent Knitting Traditions from Interweave Press.  The top is patterned, but since it’s knit three purl one it’s good for watching a movie on the plane.

What do you knit on vacation?

Once the weather warms up we know that the grandkids don’t need scarves, mittens, or cosy sweaters.

But they may like a vest-

Sweetness Vest

Provence Vest

Just think how cute the little ones will be in a vest- a little dressed up for a special occasion, but they can still run or crawl.

The top one is knit out of Sweetness, a sport weight variegated yarn.  The lower one is knit in Provence, the old standby worsted weight cotton from Classic Elite.  Both are machine washable, kid friendly yarns, so when the ice cream hits the hand knit it’s not a disaster!

Both patterns are commercial, the Sweetness from a booklet full of patterns for that yarn, and the Provence from Minnowknits.

New yarn! Great excitment!

Tempo

Temp is a soft blend of cotton, acrylic and nylon.  It works up at 5 stitches per inch. I wanted to “do something’ with it.

Ravelry showed that someone had knit one of these.

loopy cowl

Is it a cowl?  Neck rings?  A loopy scarf thingie?  I”m not exactly sure, but whatever it is, everyone who looks at it says, hey,  it’s cute!

The original pattern was written for a more wintry feel.  To lighten it for summer, I did six rows on each ring, and got a nice little something out of a skein of Tempo.  It would be a nice little knit in other yarns, too.

The original pattern is by Kirsten Johnstone- thank you so much, what a great idea!

The one skein of Tempo version has five loops, six rows each.  Kirsten’s pattern on Ravelry- look for Sev[en] Circle.

When we tell people that they have to do a gauge swatch at least half of the knitting population says, “Do I really? I knit loose- can’t I just go down a needle size?”

Well, maybe.  Then again, maybe not.  It does save a lot of time to try out the yarn and needles- to make sure that you’re knitting a sweater that will fit the person it’s being knit for, not her two year old daughter.  And it’s good to see the texture that the yarn has- just because the designer likes that yarn at four stitches to the inch doesn’t mean that you will.

Eventually most knitters learn that they will be happier if they just make the swatch.

There is one trick that can make swatching easier.

Here’s one swatch

Blue Swatch

It’s got a little stockinette, a little garter, a little openwork pattern.  I knit it last year sometime.  I have no idea what needles I used for it, just that there are at least two sizes involved.

Here’s the trick-

White Swatches

See the purl bumps on the stockinette?  They tell me what size needle I did the swatch in.  One has nine bumps, one seven.  So one was knit on a size seven needle, the other on a size nine.  So simple, and so useful!  Many thanks to Stephanie Purl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) for this one.

One other thing about making a swatch- if the garment, blanket or whatever you’re making will be washed, wash the swatch the same way and check the gauge after it dries.  Some yarns won’t change, others will.

Working on a sweater?  Need a little moral support or help?  The Sweater Support Group meets on the last Thursday of the month, from 7 to 9.  $10 drop in fee- chocolate provided as needed if we have to rip anything out.

And if you’re just starting a sweater- yes, you’ll have to do a swatch!

A few hot days, and we’re all thinking of summer tops.

Remember the linen one Kim knit last month?

Kim's Green Top

It’s in the current Vogue Knitting.

Jen has already knit one, and has a request from her sister for one in light green.

Jin’s orange is done.

Jin's Orange Top

Jin has also knit a similar top out of Berroco’s Origami.  Origami is a worsted weight blend of acrylic, linen, nylon and cotton.  It comes in multicolors that work up to solid effect.

Jin's Origami Top

While the silhouette is similar, the constuction is different.  The bodice of the Origami top is knit from side to side, then you pick up stitches and knit the lower section.  The pattern is one of the new booklets from Berroco, the pattern is called Bellambie.

If this has inspired you to knit a summer top, great! However, please be aware that the worsted weight linen from Louet has been discontinued, so we have limited stock on hand.  We do have lots of Provence, Origami, and Seduce, all of which would work well for either top.

Inge knit this out of bamboo-

Summer Beaded Scarf

Here’s a close up of the beading

End of Scarf

It is the same color, but the lighting was different-

Often when people think of knitted scarves they only think of the warm wooly ones that keep your neck warm and jazz up winter coats and jackets.  The ones moms tie around kid’s necks to keep the draft out.  Winter scarves.

But for knitters (and crocheters) there is a whole world of potential in lightweight scarves for summer.  These aren’t for warmth, they are lovely decorations.  Like wearing a necklace, but with more texture.

And a scarf is a great way to use some of the newer yarns.  Bamboo and silk knit up soft and drapy,  just right for a little summery color.  The rayon and linen blends make nice scarves too- Seduce,Bonsai and Origami all have great colors.

There’s a lot going on here-beading, lace, and picking up stitches.  Inge’s giving a class on it in April.  What a nice scarf to wear to a summer party!

Jen will be doing a class with this guy

O'Bear

O’Bear is a simple looking little guy, just a skein of Chunky Alpaca.  But there’s a lot of neat knitting going on- he’s knit flat and in the round, and has just enough seaming to give you a chance to learn mattress stitch.

Spring is a great time to learn something new!

There’s something unexplainable about some yarns.  They are soft, in nice colors, and just demand to be knit to really appreciate the colors.

Noro is one of those yarns. Eisaku Noro blends the raw materials- he uses a lot of wool and silk- hand spins and then uses dyes and colors inspired by nature to create one of a kind yarns.  They work well with simple shapes in garter and stockinette.

We’ve had it in the store for a while now, and the Suki Scarf has gotten a lot of attention.

Suki Scarf

It’s knit with one skein of Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn, on a size 6 needle.

Jin knit this adorable top for a little girl.

Noro Top

Knit from the top down, in one piece so there is no finishing.  A nice way to dress up an outfit.

We now have a Noro that’s mostly cotton, for spring and summer.  Kim made this shrug.

Taiyo Shrug

Taiyo is a worsted weight blend of cotton, silk, nylon and a touch of wool.  Wonderful colors- lots of bright summery combinations.

Phyllis spent a lot time communing with Silk Garden to knit a pinwheel sweater.

Pinwheel Sweater

It’s a circle with sleeves, making a shawl collar when closed.  A real display of Noro color.