Posts Tagged ‘wool’

Hi friends,

Most of you will have received your November issue by now, so I don't think I'm ruining any surprises by talking about the knitting pattern that you'll find on page 149. Isn't it lovely?

Photography, Ryan Brook. Layout, Chris Bond.

This lace scarf was designed by Toronto knitting teacher, writer and technical editor Kate Atherley. The simple pattern is easy to memorize and results in a beautiful end product. Kate even provided a page of helpful hints to help novice lace knitters decipher the pattern. I think it's a perfect candidate for your first lace project – or to add to your list of Christmas presents to make!

The project takes one skein of Cascade 220 – a 100 percent wool worsted weight yarn. We like it because it comes in dozens of brilliant colours. And at 220 yards per 100 grams, you get great value for your dollar.

Cascade 220 is widely available in Canada (here's a list of Canadian retailers, always call ahead), but if you can't find it in a store nearby, I'd recommend substituting Patons' Classic Wool. This recently relaunched product is also a 100 percent wool worsted weight yarn that comes in a wide range of colours; and at 210 yards per 100 grams, it's also a really good deal. And, of course, it's also available across the country.

If you can't find either of these yarns, or if you'd like to make something with a more luxurious feel, consider changing the type of wool (for example, 100 per cent merino wool might be less "itchy") or even looking for a completely different fibre. Keep in mind that changing the fibre will likely change the look and feel of the finished product; if you're in doubt, ask the owner or one of the employees of your friendly local yarn store to help you make a substitute.

If you'd like to learn more about yarn substitution, I'd recommend checking out The Knitter's Book of Wool and The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes. They're excellent resources, and packed with beautiful projects, too. (Clara also writes Knitter's Review, a weekly online knitting magazine. She's a dynamo!)

Happy knitting!

I recently got back from a terrific visit to my parents' house. Besides the usual treats (lots of hugs, steamed crab dinners and fresh country air), I received a couple of early Christmas presents. True, they were gifts to myself, but I was just as excited to open them as I am on Christmas morning.

Last summer, Austen wrote about the wondrous workings of the ball winder and swift. I had no idea that you could turn tangled hanks of yarn into tidy balls in no time at all. I figured it took four hands, a vast knowledge of curse words and ninja-like knot-untangling skills to produce a ball worth knitting. But it doesn't!

How a Swift Works

The swift works like an umbrella. You loop a hank of yarn over it, then push the centre piece up to tighten the yarn. (Back in the good old days, my dad acted as a human swift, holding the yarn between his outstretched hands while my grandmother wound balls of wool.)

How a Ball Winder Works

The ball winder turns the wool around and around a spindle, creating a pretty, perfect doughnut of untangled wool. You simply slide the end of the yarn through a tension pin, then through a slit in the centre of the spindle. Then you turn the crank, and the cone spins. It couldn't be easier.

These tools make the front end of the knitting process a breeze. Instead of days, it took me a couple of hours to turn this:Into this:

I learned a couple of things as I was getting to know my new favourite tools. Here are some hints to help you make the neatest balls of yarn.

5 Tips for Using a Ball Winder and Swift

1. Make sure your tools are far enough apart. My first ball was slumped and tangled because I set the swift and ball winder too close together. If you have room, clamp them to opposite edges of a table to make sure there's proper tension as the yarn winds.
2. Untwist the hank on the swift. By turning the hank so the winding yarn is pulling off the outside, you'll prevent snags and frustration as you wind.
3. Snip the ties carefully. Hanks are tied to keep the loops from tangling, sometimes in more than one place. Use small, sharp scissors to snip the ties close to the knot. Keep your eyes peeled as you snip so you don't cut into the hank (totally frustrating!).
4. Turn at a moderate speed. Turning too fast or too slow can create a lumpy result, so get into a smooth, moderate rhythm as quickly as you can.
5. Guide the yarn with your free hand. Let the yarn run through your free hand as you wind to ensure it's guided properly into the tension pin. This will keep out snags and give you a smooth ball of wool.

If you're more of a visual learner, check out this video demo from Knitting Daily TV. Scroll to 0:44 and watch the magic take place!

Jazz is all about improvisation. You're given the main musical cues – the tempo, the chord changes, the melodic line – then you spend a nice 5 to 10 minutes noodling around, playing with the theme. You add a few accents here, riff off the chord changes there, and you have a song. It may be unique, but it's still recognizable as the tune you set out to play.

Why all the jazz talk, you ask? Well, my stash-busting hat is not going so well. I set out to make the simple but beautiful Brattleboro Hat from New England Knits, one of my very favourite pattern books of all time. Voilà:

Photography, Sadie Dayton, © Interweave Press LLC

But I ended up with this:

That's a sad pile of frogged yarn (and a promise to myself that I will never play jazz with a perfectly good pattern ever again).

Improv #1: I added an inch to the band, because my head is slightly...larger than average. ("It's all those brains," my mother would say.) I washed and blocked the band, as directed, to "relax the stitches." Well, my stitches must have vacationed in Tahiti, because the band ended up about 3 inches longer than necessary.

Lesson #1: Stick with the pattern. If it says the finished product will fit your huge cranium, don't add extra stitches for insurance. Oh, and it wouldn't kill you to do a gauge swatch once in a while.

Improv #2: I picked up an extra 8 stitches (enough for an extra set of decreases) around the edge of the band for the crown. (That should be big enough!) I stopped picking stitches up about 2.5 inches before the end of the band so when I joined the stitches in the round, there would be a tail left over. (That should take up those extra couple inches on the band! And I'm sure I can engineer it into some sort of pseudo-flap for the buttons!)

Lesson #2: If something is too big to start with, fancy footwork probably won't save you. Unravel and start over before you're in too deep.

Improv #3: I read the moss stitch pattern repeats wrong and alternated P1, K1 and K1, P1, rather than doing two rows of one, then two rows of the other. (Oh, well, who cares if the first two rows are wrong? I'll just start fresh from Row 3!)

Lesson #3: Read the pattern repeats at least twice before you start. Before. Not after.

Improv #4: I plowed into the crown decreases even though I hadn't ended my moss stitch on the correct row. (Well, Row 1 is close enough to Row 3!) Since my moss stitch was off, the decreases looked weird and the texture devolved into chaos. I might also have purled when I was supposed to knit, and knitted when I was supposed to purl, in few places.

Lesson #4: Start over now, before you have to wear this monstrosity in public.

So, I gave up. The hat is now frogged, and I have plans to start over with fresh yarn and a new appreciation for careful pattern following.

I hope your knitting projects are going better than mine!

Thank you all so much for all your excellent pattern suggestions for using up my yarn stash. I can't believe how many fun ideas you posted. Now I have a buffet of options to choose from. I took a few minutes to look up some of the links you suggested and thought I'd share them here.

• Jan suggested I try a well-loved Canadian Living pattern for tiny knitted dolls. It's a great idea for using up a pile of small yarn scraps. Plus, you can customize each doll for the recipient.
• Deb suggested I try out Shelly Kang's sock-yarn blanket. I love the Kaffe Fassett look of the squares in this throw.
• Deb also suggested a Log Cabin tree skirt from Sally Melville's Warm Knits, Cool Gifts. I love Log Cabin anything, so I'll have to get the book. Or maybe craft a bunch of Log Cabin squares I can make into all sorts of things – totes, throws, etc.
• LouLou suggested a modern version of the crocheted granny square. Isn't it cool how the finished product looks a little like stained glass?
• GiGi was a champ – she posted several links. One was Soule Mama's no-pattern stash-busting blanket and another was Posie Gets Cozy's ripple afghan. I'm a huge fan of both Amanda and Alicia, so I'm very happy to see them in this list. If I ever learn to crochet, The Ripple is a must.
• GiGi also included links to a cool vertical striped afghan and a wicked stripy scarf.

I'm having a crazy-busy week, but I have managed to get just a touch of sewing time in. I finished my sashiko mail holder. Hurray for finished objects (at last)!

Austen may have startitis, but I've got a nasty case of stashitis.

A quick cleanup of my office/craft room at home revealed several baskets and bags stuffed with yarn. Then I took a look at the yarn basket in my living room and discovered another huge pile. Then a few smaller piles tucked into other baskets and on shelves. Yikes!

Last weekend, my mom and I hit an anniversary sale at a huge yarn store. While the deals were amazing and the company was excellent (hi, Mom!), all I could think of was the growing tower of fibre threatening to take over my life. So I plunked down the cash for a single pretty skein of camellia pink sock yarn and a set of DPNs I needed and headed for the door.

So, crafty friends, here's where you come in. What are your favourite stash-busting patterns for small amounts of yarn?

I have lots of sock-weight and worsted wool, but only one or two skeins apiece in most cases. I like to knit baby sweaters for my friends' adorable kids, and I love hats, mitts and scarves. What else do you typically make with your odds and ends?  Post the link in the comments box on this page and help a drowning gal out. Please?

Hi friends,

If you're talking to Santa anytime soon, would you please let him know that this year, I'm hoping for a ball winder and swift for Christmas? Because really, I'm in love with these two old-school knitting tools.

Photo from webs.com.

Last Saturday I looked at the Tea Leaves Cardigan that I'd left languishing on the couch and realized that if I didn't wind the five skeins of wool (Louet Riverstone in Goldilocks) that were hidden beneath it, I'd probably never finish the sweater! So I packed them up and jumped on the streetcar, bound for The Purple Purl, where I'd bought the wool in the first place.

Jen gave me a quick tutorial and within minutes I was winding merrily away. In less than half an hour I had five tidy balls of wool and was ready to knit again. I spent a happy hour ensconced at the store with an iced latte and my sweater (and the air-conditioning!) and I'm happy to report that the sweater is coming right along.

Of course, I'm already thinking about what to knit next. I've got a shawl on my mind – Make+Do reader Jen was making a beautiful one on the TTC Knitalong – and I'm trying to decide which colour to make. I'd like it to go with this sweater and I've got it down to two choices...

What do you think?

Hi, Make + Doers! This is Tina speaking. Austen’s on vacation today, so I’m filling in as guest poster. You might remember me as the slightly obsessive craft-room organizer from a few months ago. I’m delighted to be back and to share a little about the crafty trip I took recently.

Remember the excitement of Grade 5 field trips, when you got to get out of the classroom and see something REAL? That was how I felt last week at The Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vermont.

I grew up in New England, so I go back often. This time, my mom and dad decided to spoil me and hit all the yarn shops within a 50-mile radius. They were all filled with lovely yarn, but the Spinnery really stood out.

It’s a cooperative of like-minded wool lovers who work really hard to sustain sheep farmers in the area. They produce a range of gorgeous yarns using environmentally friendly techniques, and the results are inspiring.

Of course, the part my dad was most excited about was the mill behind the shop. The folks who work there are extraordinarily proud of their setup, and you never have to ask twice for a tour.

The Spinnery uses vintage machinery to card, spin and skein their wool. I was amazed at the ingenuity of the people who work there – including one particularly resourceful ex-Navy man who minds the inner workings of these behemoth devices. It’s kind-of like having a ’57 Chevy with a ’92 Toyota engine and ’87 Ford bearings. These folks hunt for parts on the Internet, raid yard sales for old bobbins (New Englanders often use them as candleholders!) and machine whatever they can’t seem to find. It’s a testament to New England frugality and inventiveness.

First, we checked out the chilly barn, where bags and bags of fleeces reside in various states. Some were fresh off the sheep, some were washed and some were just back from the dye house. Each colour is done independently, then a number of colours are blended together to create a specific shade of yarn.

Then, it’s to the carding machine, which stands about 8 feet tall at one end. Fleece goes into the hopper and gets dragged through successively finer-toothed rollers. The carder takes out burrs, twigs and other stuff sheep get into and tease the fibres apart to make them workable.

Here’s my dad’s finger, pointing at the crazy-sharp teeth on the rollers.

Here you can see wool fibres on the rollers on the right, with the smooth, carded batt at the bottom left.

The batt then rolls up over a conveyer into the machine that separates it into individual pieces of roving.

Roving may look like yarn, but it’s not twisted into its final shape yet.  Here you can see a whole row of roving being wound onto a big spindle to preparing it for spinning.

The spindles go into the top of the spinning machine, where the rovings are twisted to form yarn. It could be a single ply for a finer finish, or a bunch of plies together for a yarn with more heft.  At the bottom, you can see the bobbins the spun yarn winds around.

The yarn gets a good steaming to help it stay in its new form. I loved these huge bins of freshly steamed wool on their bobbins. They look so fresh and inviting, almost ready to pick up and knit.

The bobbins then go on a skeiner, which winds the yarn around a huge wooden contraption that looks a little like an old-fashioned clothes dryer. These big circles are then twisted into the skeins you see at the front of the store.  Apparently, this machine takes a steady, patient hand. There’s no rushing a persnickety old skeiner like this.

Before you leave the shop, you run into (literally almost) the pattern wall. The Spinnery designs a huge number of their own patterns – basically, if you can knit it, they have a pattern for it using their beautiful yarn.

I was a little overwhelmed by the variety of wools the Spinnery offered, so I ended up with just a couple: Maine Organic in a smoky brown and Sylvan Spirit in Amethyst. Rest assured, I’ll be back.

I hope you enjoyed this virtual day trip to New England.  Tell us about the special places you find wool – we always love to hear about the champions of handmade!