Sundry Saturday: When Worlds Collide

A week ago at TNNA I went down to the lobby to meet a friend for a drink and in turn was introduced to several other well-known names in the industry I had not met before.  It is one of the reasons I like going to TNNA -- the opportunity to network.

Just as I was calling it a night, I was introduced to Laura who said she was a fan of my book and said she had a shop in Nevada.  I responded with a "Laura, of Jimmy Beans Wool, Laura?" To which she responded, yes!

Well I started blabbering about what a genius she is (because I believe it to be true), particularly with their most recent sponsorship with US Snowboarding and US Freeskiiing.  You can read more about it in their January Newsletter.  Because if you remember, I am a part-time ski instructor as well.  So she has combined two of my favorite things.  I told her I was coming to the area this weekend for my ski instructor training and was planning on coming by the shop SPECIFICALLY to tell her how much I appreciated her genius.

So now as a result of some casual conversations at TNNA, I might be able to attend one of the events!!!  How cool would that be?!?  So once again, you never quite know how knitting might touch your world, even in areas that seem completely unrelated.

Think Tank: Social Media

Social Media is the "new, hot, thing".  And most of us, from a business perspective, are trying to figure out how it plays into our business and marketing plans.  Although I am FAR from having any real answers on the subject, I am at least, starting to try and get a grip on it for my business, Knitability.

First, I recently discovered that Knitability already had a Facebook page, I just needed to claim it.  Next I needed a graphic which you see here.  Then I needed to add some content which often comes from my blog posts.

Apparently, the trick is to try and have everything "tie together".  Links from my blog to the Facebook page, Facebook to my website and then back around again.  It sounds relatively simple, but in fact is not so easy to do.

And then you can add Twitter and LinkedIn and Ravelry and photo sites and it just gets more complicated.  So how is it going -- I am not really sure, but I still think the concept is good.  So check out my page, give me some feedback and we will see how it goes!!  Wish me luck!

Tech Talk: Invisible Pick Ups

Jeannefil asked about an entrelac shawl and the reality of it being reversible.  Although I have not seen this shawl, most entrelac is "one-sided".   However, in my book Entree to Entrelac, I did design two truly reversible projects.  One is a baby blanket that is created with double knit entrelac (not for the faint of heart).  But I also created a cables and lace pattern that was shown both as a scarf and as a throw.  These could be very easily modified to shawl size.

The trick with reversible entrelac can be found in the pick-up process.  Instead of knitting up or purling up stitches as usual, you insert a yarn over between each one.  Then on the next row you either knit the picked-up stitch and yarn over together or work each one as a single stitch depending upon the pattern and the gauge.  Give it a try on a swatch, you might find lots of uses for this neat little trick.

Mathematical Monday: Exploring the Knitting Web

After coming up dry in my quest for a post today, I did a simple google search for "knitting math".  Along with some really useful blog posts and the always-lovely reports of geniuses who crochet things like hyperbolic planes and knit advanced mathematical concepts into 3 dimensional a-ha moments, I happened upon a great real-time story of how math makes life better and knew I was glad to be part of the blogosphere. I think this internet thing might be here to stay. Anyway,  I don't know how I missed this before, but I'm glad I found it now. Thank you to trying to grok. Go check it out. 

Think Tank: Knee to Knee

So far, not one of my five children has really taken to or fallen in love with knitting. I taught all of them the basics when they were in elementary school and occasionally one of them will pick it up for a minute, but it never sticks.

So, when my daughter-in-law requested a lesson while she was visiting for the holidays, I was happy to oblige and get her going on a scarf that my son (her husband) had started some years ago. She learned the knit stitch very handily on the scarf, so I taught her to cast on and she began a washcloth. While she knitted, we sat right next to each other,  talked and got to know each other better. Did you realize that's kind of a rare thing these days?

Anyway,  she understood the basics pretty easily and after only a few rows was even trying to fix her own mistakes. I was impressed.  I offered encouragement and sent her home with yarn and needles. She texted me a photo of the first washcloth, which she finished on the plane. Today she sent me a photo of her second washcloth, which she started and finished on her own. She says she wants to do more. As you might imagine, a box is, even now,  winging its way to her apartment far across the country,  filled with all sorts of knitting goodies.

It is so nice to experience the old-fashioned, one-on-one kind of teaching, where you get to actually be a witness to the moments of understanding and time slows down and you can actually hear the other person breathing as they concentrate on all the in and out and wrap it this way and see, the new stitch is sitting right there, that's it! All this technology is great, but if you ever get the chance, I invite you to take part in the pleasure of just showing someone how you do what you do. Knee to knee. You won't regret it.

WIP: Paid and Non-Paid (sort of)

As is always the case there are several WIPs on my needles.  The one that is "due" by Saturday morning is the last of the Mobius cowls for Claudia Hand Paint Yarn.  Below are the three that I have already finished (BTW -- first picture with my new phone).  Hopefully in the next few days there will be several chunks of time to get the last one complete.

I am also working on my Custom Jacket created from leftovers (mostly). I have 23 rows to go to complete the back.  Then I have really start thinking about some design choices as they relate to the fronts.  Needless to say, I am spending a lot of time the the Chanel website to see what Karl is up to!  Decisions, decisions......

Tech Tuesday: A Bit of Continental

Sunflowermorning asked about Continental Knitting. While nothing replaces a class or someone showing you in real time, here are a few photos that show the basics of yarn and finger placement.  Don't be afraid to just try it. You may feel like a klutz at first because you're very nearly starting from scratch from a movement and thought-process point of view, but remember that you are really smart and DO know how to knit and if you take a look at the stitches and the yarn, you can figure it out (yes, like everything else in my knitting life, I taught myself through trial and error. I didn't even have a book or photos, so if I can do it, you can do it). Of course there are videos all over the web, and every instructor in this method has their own ideas about it. I'm a laissez-faire kind of girl when it comes to continental, which means I would never say that you MUST knit this way. If you like it, great. If you end up staying a thrower instead of converting to picking, awesome. If you decide to learn it for use in specific situations, like me, yay for you. Remember, having a good time and getting the results you want are WAY more important than how you knit.

Consider why you want to learn continental and use that as a motivator to get through the awkwardness of learning a new technique.  Continental can be faster, but not for everyone, and it definitely won't feel faster or more fluent until you reach a point of proficiency, so be prepared for a learning curve but don't judge it based on the results of your first couple of practice washcloths. It is definitely useful and worthwhile, but it is no more fundamentally superior to throwing-style knitting than chocolate ice cream is to vanilla. It's all personal preference.

Anyway, I hope you give it a go!

Late Mathematical Monday: 1 in 35

This is a bit late (like a day), but I have started traveling again and need to get back into the swing of things.  Oh, how soon they forget!!!

Anyway....1 in 35, that is the current chances of winning our fabulous prize package at the end of the month!  But you have to add comments or questions into the blog to be entered.  Some folks odds of winning are actually better than that because they have asked more than one question or made more than one comment!  See how easy it is?!?!

The next component can be found here.  It is a small project bag from Della Q.  It starts by holding all the fun components of your prize, but then can be used to hold your next project!  So lets see some more questions and comments!!

Think Tank: Yarn Choices

As you might be able to guess, the swatch above contains LOTS of different yarns.  In fact, it is a swatch for my next jacket and uses primarily leftover bits and pieces.  So I can easily say I have worked with almost everything.  But even so, I still have to say that wool and wool blends are still my favorite as they work superbly with knitted fabrics.  But, as was pointed out earlier, some folks are allergic to wool, so it is just not an option.

My answer is this, experiment!  Part of understanding how different fibers will behave is to actually use and play with those fibers.  There is no rule that says every bit of our knitting must be destine for a project of some sort.  It is completely acceptable (some might say wise) to just buy a single skein and swatch with it.  Try different needle sizes and different stitch pattern then block the fabric and discover what works and what doesn't work.

As a rule, animal based fibers are lighter than plant based fibers causing plant based fibers to tend to stretch or grow more than animal fibers.  Personally, I find that knitting plant fibers on a slightly tighter gauge helps the fabric maintain its original look and feel.  The down side is since plan fibers do not give, knitting tightly tends to be harder on the hands. The other option is to just be very aware of how the fabric will change after blocking and based on the weight of the garment.  This is a great reason to check out knitted samples in person when ever possible!

What is your favorite fiber to work with?!

WIP Wednesday: Making this Blog work for YOU!

Like Gwen, I was reading back through our comments and decided that there is gold in them thar hills. I put up a new permanent page (see it up there at the top?) that will collect beautiful shiny bits of wisdom all in one place to eventually become an interactive reference.  Any knitter who wants to quickly find ideas to get them unstuck,  a new way to think about things or just sound knitting knowledge can come and check it out . We'll keep working on the organization and structure, go back through past comments, add our own thoughts and continue to take your contributions into serious consideration to make it truly useful for you.

I hope you'll check it out.

And ps, we haven't forgotten about the queries about non-wool yarns or about continental knitting-those posts are coming soon!