OPK (Other People's Knitting)

Jim is almost finished his Sarah Blanch shawl, from Folk Shawls:

(Actually, the picture is more than a week old; he's probably finished it by now.) That's Koigu, of course; the skein in progress is the eighth and final one.

Lisa J. is making another felted entrelac bag:

--this time using leftover scraps of Kureyon that she had around the house--there are at least 4 different colorways in there. (Any of you out there have bits and pieces of Kureyon lying around? Nah, I didn't think so.) Note the spots where stitches are picked up to start a new rectangle, and the old color shows through along the pick-up line:

This will all vanish entirely when the bag is fulled.

And Marian has made the most amazing felted rabbit:

"Real" stuffed-animal eyes and everything!

Finally, Robin's Rambling Rows baby blanket is done, done, done!

Don't you think she should only give it to the baby on condition that she can still visit it from time to time?

This may be a bit premature, but....

according to Weather.com, forecast for next Saturday (Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival) is partly cloudy, with a high of 72 degrees. Sounds like perfect sheep-petting weather to me. Last one to the Koigu booth is .... an unhappy camper!

Specs

For anyone who saw the last post and wondered about how to improvise a Faroese shawl, here's what I did:

I measured one long bottom side of my shawl (that is, from the edge of the center panel out to one corner): in this case, something like 50". I reduced that to about 32", figuring that perhaps the correct proportion for this measurement is a-little-less-than-the-wearer's-height. [Error 1: my shawl was still too big for Diana, or at least that size done in bulkier yarn was overwhelming for her.] I then multiplied that by the gauge of the new yarn, about 5 sts per inch: 160 sts. [Error 2: The new gauge from which I calculated was based on the Koigu with which I cast on, but more of the shawl came from the DK-weight yarns than I'd anticipated, so the gauge was bigger than I expected, approximately 3.5 sts per inch.]

Took the same measurement and calculation for the bottom edge of the center panel. 7", reduced it (pretty randomly) to 6, 30 sts. [No errors here. At least, none that weren't covered in Error 1 and Error 2.]

Put a 5-st border at each side, for a total cast-on number of 360 sts.

Measured my shawl from cast-on edge to center back neck, compared that length to the distance from the back of Diana's neck to her tuches, reduced accordingly, and converted that to a row-count for the new yarn. 20" reduced to 16" times 10 rows per inch = 160 rows. [Error 3: I always assume the standard 2-to-1 ratio for garter stitch, i.e. if 5 sts = 1" then 10 rows = 1". But loose knitting and strong blocking, both so common in lacework, throw that off, until the vertical gauge can be much like that of stockinette (maybe 7 rows per inch in this example).]

Now, a word about how Faroese shawls are built: The obvious shape is a center-back panel that tapers upward (though not all the way to a point), flanked by two wide triangles. The usual method is to cast on at the bottom and then work upward while decreasing. The side triangles decrease (for the most part) in an easy and steady way: on every right-side row, a decrease is made at the beginning and end of each triangle. In the example here, that would mean 2 decreases every 2 rows in each 160-st triangle, so it should take 160 rows to reach the top.

The coincidence of this number matching the row calculation I reached above should look wonderful, but that would overlook the other, less obvious, shaping of a Faroese shawl: it has additional decreases in both the side and center areas, placed relatively near the top, which draw the "wings" in somewhat and make the shawl sit happily on the shoulders (instead of sliding off, as plain triangles tend to do).

An examination of my shawl and a few other shawl patterns gave me the notion that these supplemental decreases tend to start when about half the triangle stitches have been decreased, tend to occur about three times altogether, and tend to involve between 10% and 15% of the existing stitches. In this case, that would mean that there would be a row of extra decreases when there were 80 sts left in each triangle.

I (of course) have no notes about this process, so I have no idea what I was thinking, but examination of Diana's shawl indicates that I in fact worked 4 decrease rows, and that the first one decreased 6 sts, the second one 5, the third one 7, and the last one 4 sts.

Error 4: An astute observer might now remark that each of these decreases diminishes the number of rows needed to get to the top: thus, instead of the projected 160 rows, I'd be looking at more like 138. And indeed, Diana's shawl only has about 130 rows. But this error (which would make the shawl come out too short) actually compensates somewhat for Error 3 (which was going to make the shawl too long). The total length is about 16".

How does the center panel decrease? Many Faroese shawls have lace patterns up the center panel, and the requirements of the pattern dictate when and where the decreases occur. For this plain one, I worked the first decrease row at the same time as the first set of supplemental decreases at the sides, and I did a total of 6 decrease rows (three having 3 decreases each and 3 having 2).

To summarize the knitting thus far:

Cast on 360 sts. Knit 1 row, placing markers after the 4th stitch, the 165th stitch, the 195th stitch, and the 356th stitch. (If I can count, that should bracket the center 30 sts and set off the outer 4 on each side.)
Row 1: K4, slip marker, ssk, k to 2 sts before next marker, k2tog, k to next marker, slip marker, ssk, k to 2 sts before last marker, k2tog, k to end. 4 sts decreased.
Row 2: Knit.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until 81 sts remain in each outer section.
Next row: K4, *slip marker, ssk, (k9, k2tog) 6 times, k to 2 sts before next marker, k2tog, slip marker,* (k6, k2tog) 3 times, k to next marker, repeat from * to * once more, k to end. 19 sts decreased: the usual 4, plus 6 in each triangle, plus 3 in the center. 73 sts remain in each triangle.
Knit 1 row.
Now go back to repeating rows 1 and 2 again until there are 63 sts in each triangle.
Next row: K4, *slip marker, ssk, (k8, k2tog) 5 times, k to 2 sts before next marker, k2tog, slip marker,* (k5, k2tog) 3 times, k to next marker, repeat from * to * once more, k to end. 17 sts decreased: the usual 4, plus 5 in each triangle, plus 3 in the center. 56 sts remain in each triangle.
Knit 1 row.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 twice more. Then work a row with the usual side decreases, plus 3 sts decreased more-or-less evenly throughout the center section.
Continue on until there are 48 sts in each triangle.
Next row: K4, *slip marker, k2tog, k3, (k2tog, k4) 6 times, k2tog, k to 2 sts before next marker, k2tog, slip marker,* (k6, k2tog) twice, k to next marker, repeat from * to * once more, k to end. 20 sts decreased: the usual 4, plus 7 in each triangle, plus 2 in the center. 39 sts remain in each triangle.
Knit 1 row.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 twice more, then work a row with the usual side decreases plus 2 in the center section.
Continue on until there are 33 sts in each triangle.
Next row: K4, *slip marker, k2tog, (k4, k2tog) 4 times, k to 2 sts before next marker, k2tog, slip marker,* (k4, k2tog) twice, k to next marker, repeat from * to * once more, k to end. 14 sts decreased: the usual 4, plus 4 in each triangle, plus 2 in the center. 27 sts remain in each triangle.

Back the the theoretical part:

From here it gets a little dodgy. My original shawl does this cool thing where the remaining stitches in the center section suddenly start to decrease by tapering inward from the sides, fast (like decrease-on-every-row fast). I assumed that this was typical, and duplicated it for Diana's. So after the most recent set of center-panel decreases, there were 13 sts remaining. I waited until I thought I was six rows from the end of the side triangles--which would be when there were about 7 sts left--and then began to decrease the center by working (ssk, k to last 2 sts, k2tog) between the center markers on every row.

Special note for the final decrease row in each section: when there are only 3 sts remaining in any section, work a double decrease (slip 1 st, k2tog, pass the slipped st over) to reduce them to one.

With any luck, this has brought everything to a point, and there are 4 sts outside the markers, plus 1 st in between each pair of markers: 11 sts. Option 1: rearrange the sts onto 2 needles and work a 3-ndl bind-off from outside edge to center, working the last 3 sts as "k3tog" instead of the usual "k2tog." Option 2: Rearrange the sts onto 2 needles and stare hard at them until you remember how to work a garter-stitch graft. (Hint: perhaps it would help to knit the first half of the row and then graft from the center out to the edge.)

After you have your second kid, you get a little less obsessive. (Or maybe "more chaotic" would be more accurate.) By the time I got to Eva's shawl, I'd noticed my own tendency to want to work more shaping and make things more complicated. This time, I only did 3 supplemental decrease rows in the outer triangles, and I decreased the center panel gradually but kind of randomly, working "ssk, k to last 2 sts, k2tog" every 4th row for awhile and then more-or-less every 2nd row until I ran out of sts at the same time as the side triangles ended. I also made what I think of as the "Landscape Shawl Modification": instead of decreasing on every right-side row, I decreased on every row, but only for the first half of the row. That is, I'd begin each row with "k4, ssk, k to 2 sts before next marker, k2tog," then knit the rest of the row plain. This keeps you from having to think about which is the right-side row, which can sometimes be a nuisance with garter-stitch. No one's every going to notice that the decreases on one side are offset by a row from those on the other.

Stripes and Yarn Requirements

All the stripes are in multiples of 2 rows (or 1 garter ridge), so that the color-changes are clean and the yarns can all be carried up one side edge. (A meticulous mommy might work a round of single crochet around the edges to hide all that, but I'm not that mommy. And even Eva, who complained about the ends sticking out, has nothing to say about the stranding up the side.) Diana's shawl was in 4-row stripes until I realized that neither the Koigu nor the Snuggly (which was, of course, the last skein in the world of a discontinued color) was going to be sufficient. Then I started mixing things up a bit, introducing the new green with a 2-row stripe and rationing the old green so that some of it continued all the way to the top. The next multi after the Koigu ran out was a skein of Regia (Ringel, I think, in a color that may have been called "Clown"), and I finished up with some Stahl Baby Color (is that stuff even made anymore?). There are 4 entire 50-g skeins in there, varying in yardage from about 175 to about 225, plus some more.

Eva's shawl used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (the raspberry), Dale Baby Ull (the turquoise), Peter Pan DK (the royal blue), and Fortissima Socka (the purple), all on US #4 needles, for an overall gauge of about 5 sts per inch and a cast-on number around 280. This time, I'd started with full skeins, and I knew what they were, so I was able to calculate the yardage: about 380 altogether. The colors always repeat in the same sequence, but the stripes are on a repeat of 3 (4 rows, 4 rows, 2 rows) to liven things up a bit.

The depth at back-of-neck on Eva's shawl is only 13", and the wings each measure maybe 25" from center corner to tip. There's a kind of pattern to the sizing here: I generally knit large for Diana, with the usual knitter's impulse to have her get the most wear out of it, and I often overdo it, as here. Then, when I knit for Eva, I overcompensate--not only because I don't want it to be too big again, but because I figure it doesn't need to fit for that long, since she'll inherit her sister's soon enough.

If these instructions seem too vague, take my advice: make a flying guess at a cast-on number and dig right in; figure the rest out as you knit. It's a shawl, after all, and exact measurements and shaping aren't crucial. Wing it. If you get stuck, come find me, and I'll bail you out. It's all a lot easier than it looks.

Spring Shawls

The first shawl I knit in Zephyr was a Faroese shawl from Knitters magazine. It came out a little smaller than the original, which taught me a little something about blocking and merino, but it was a perfectly fine size, considering that I have a few (!) other, larger shawls for when I want larger:

My notes say it was completed sometime in 1998.

(I don't keep good notes about most of my projects, but the bare-bones list of what I've knit now goes back to the early 1990's. But that's a post for another day.)

Some time ago, in a moment of unanticipated chill, I lent the shawl to Diana for a few blocks. She was still little enough then to be tickled to be wearing Mom's stuff. In fact, she liked it so much, she asked me to knit her one.

Hah. I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb. No way was my kid getting a lace shawl in laceweight yarn. I let her pick out a color or two of DK-weight yarn, combined it with some stuff from around the house, and made her a Faroese-style shawl. As I knit, I could feel the ghosts of Faroese knitters of centuries past looking over my shoulder and shuddering at the acrylic baby yarn in greens Mother Nature never dreamt, but y'all know Diana and her thing for green:

It was huge for her at the time--I finished it sometime in 2003, when she would have been 4--so it didn't really get much wear until this Fall.

Then came a windy day when Eva saw Diana and me wearing our shawls, and the inevitable happened. In an almost unprecedented display of promptness, in fact, it happened within the following six months:

Apparently Eva doesn't like multicolored yarns; I set more than a dozen different kinds and colors out for her to choose among, and she avoided all the multis in favor of these. Even when I suggested including just one. Now, of course, she announces that she likes all the colors except the purple. Oh, and the ends on the inside: she doesn't like the yarn tails sticking out. (The yarn tails stick out, Short Stuff, because I know you're going to drag this thing all over the neighborhood, use it as a doll blanket, tie it in knots--if I cut the ends off flush, they'd be poking out everywhere in a week.)

This shot

is the photo of record, because, while Suzanne is high on the list of upcoming shawl recipients, the Faroese shape just doesn't seem best for her. (I could be wrong. I've been swatching some Brooks Farm mohair from last Sheep and Wool Festival, and it's a vaguely Suzanne color, and it may be headed for the Litla Dimun from Folk Shawls. But it may not, and anything that sheds--boy, does this stuff shed!--may not be a Suzanne yarn.) So don't hold your breath to see all four of us in coordinated Faroese shawls.

You Asked for It

Since crochet is all over the place this season--all over ready-to-wear, all over the slew of new books and magazines, encroaching on knitting magazines from Rowan to Family Circle--we're going to offer a multi-week Beginner Crochet class.

It's the equivalent of the Beginners Knitting class: 6 weeks, a few small projects to show you plenty of techniques, all materials included. It starts on Monday 4/24.

Here are the things we'll be making:

At upper right, a cotton facecloth. At upper left, a drawstring bag. Front and center, a gauntlet (not in this too-hot-for-summer, too-hard-to-rip-out angora, but you get the idea). On the gauntlet, a simple flower, to decorate the gauntlet or the bag or anything else. At the extreme upper left, you can catch a glimpse of a granny-square pillow; if time allows or if interest demands, we'll look into granny squares, too.

If you've taken the one-day Intro to Crochet class, you'll be ahead for the first week and a half or so, but then we'll be on to new territory.

There's no avoiding the c-word this summer, so why not get on board?

New Books

Because these eagerly-anticipated titles came in yesterday afternoon, too late for the newsletter, I thought I should tell you:

and

and this

are here.

Knitting, Anyone?

Oh, you mean we're supposed to show you actual knitting in a knitting blog? Well, if you insist:

Sara in the Intermediate Class finished her gauntlets:

After the picture was taken, I swear she wove in the ends.

And I've been working with some hand-dyed yarn from a new supplier, Black Bunny Yarns:

Here's more of the yarn:

It's a bulky-weight wool; I'm getting about 3.5 sts per inch on the hat, closer to 4 on the mittens. You can make both (there are also instructions for the mittens in a larger size, these are larger than they look and fit my hand, but that's not everyone) from one skein, which is $25. The skeins have names like "Swimming Pool" and "Water Ice" and "Campfire" (the hat is "Jar of Olives"), but that's just these specific skeins, not the name of a colorway: when the label says, "Each batch is unique," it's not about the typical variation of hand-dyed yarn. It means the dyer has no intention of repeating herself and won't be trying to make the same color twice. You've got to come in and see them.

Actually, you really have to come in and see them: this stuff isn't available anywhere else.

While I've been home with my sick kid, I also finished this Daisy Top:

It's kind of hard to see, even in this closeup,

but the yarn itself has little white "daisies" on it. It's from Katia, and it's called Margarita. I assume "margarita" means "daisy" in Spanish; "marguerite" does in French, right? (Which is apparently why Daisy is a common nickname for Margaret, something I'd really wondered about.)

You can't tell much about the size from here, but it's a children's 6; the pattern goes from 2 to 8. I hope to get a kit onto the website soon.

I know I should be showing more progress on my Lace Sampler Scarf, but no needle smaller than an 8 is thinkable while watching "Barbie Swan Lake." (The things we do for a sick kid.)

Great trunk show

The Wrap Style trunk show just arrived at Rosie's and it's terrific. If you liked the projects as they look in the book, you should see them in real life. Shirley Paden's lace capelet is my personal favorite; it looks like cobwebs in the moonlight. Exquisite. The argyle wrap is adorable (we tried to get a photo of Mary B. modeling it, but due to technical difficulties...) The felted wrap with detachable fur collar really makes you start to think about the possibilities of felted colorwork. And there are many more. Stop by when you get a chance and admire some of these beauties, even try them on.

Birth of a Knitter: Episode 2

It seems that the leap from knitter to designer is, for better or for worse, a short one:

A cousin gave Diana a knitting kit for Hannukah (my favorite spelling, by the way, just for its retro look). She's doing the scarf first. And, since she thinks someone else might want to make one like it, she's written up the pattern. I wish, oh how I wish, I could show you the original handwritten version; but I can't get the contrast right and nothing shows up. I can show you the typescript she made from it, unedited:


The Acrylic Scarf
By Diana Myers
Your friend will love this extra long that
is so easy to knit!


Size
3 feet 36 inches


Materials:
U.S. 6mm size 10s
1 ball encore(shown in blue)
1 darning needle

Pattern Abbreviations: sts= stitches
Cast on 18 sts
Knit 36 inches.
Measure constantly.
Bind off.

Here’s how if you’re a beginner:

Knit 2 stitches as if you are beginning a row. Slip the bottom one off without letting the other stitch off the needle. Knit another stitch. Continue until 1 stitch is left. While you are doing this the scarf will get heavier. Cut the yarn away from the scarf, but from the ball of yarn. Don’t make it too long! Slide the stitch off the needle. Put yarn end through the stitch. Be sure it’s not the cast on
tail! Pull end in. Weave in ends.(Both)



FRINGES:

Cut at least 54 8 in. fringes.
Find a place for 4 fringes. Put all 4 fringes into that place. Knot the 4 fringes [not together out of the place] but in the place. Continue doing this until you have done 30 for 4 fringes.

Update:

Remember this?

It's bigger now.

Also, it's been wet-blocked: fully soaked and then stretched and pinned.

Though I obviously still have a lot to learn about photographing lace, I think most people would agree that the prettiest stitch so far is the fourth one from the left, the one that might look vaguely like rows of umbrellas if you turned your head sideways and squinted a bit. That's the one we'll be starting with in class tonight.

Toward the right end of this half, where things start to go all blurry, is the section that's been knit since I did the blocking. I find that, the better lace looks while it's on my needles, the more apt I am (paradoxically) to forget how much better it will look after it's blocked. When it looks bad, I keep reminding myself that it's going to improve; when it looks good, it seems unlikely that it's going to look better. But it always does. (All you lace-class students getting the hint here? Yours is going to look better, too. More better than you can anticipate right now.)

That big complicated diamond-shaped thing in the center of the last photo? That's the Trellis Diamond from Shirley Paden's "Wrapped in Tradition" in Wrap Style, which we're trying out at Wendy's request. (Hint to all you lace-class students: got your eye on a specific project? It's not too late to suggest other stitches for us to try out. It is a sampler, after all.)

Meanwhile, Robin's got the edging going on her Rambling Rows:

The consensus is that the color could not be more perfect. And now she's got lots of nice, mindless knitting for her upcoming plane trip.

Finally!

With just a few ends to weave in, the Jamaica kids' sweater is finally done.



It was a quick knit; it only seemed to drag on forever in my mind, because I kept waiting for a time when I felt fresh enough to tackle the finishing without the fear I'd be too braindead to do it right. Pattern is forthcoming...

Robin's Rambling Rows, & an Entrelac Bag

Every last square is knit:

Which brought Robin, and several others of us at Knitting Circle, to the brink of the final decision:

What color to use for the edging?

The blue-green Koigu along the upper-right edge had been the original plan, but not everyone thought it was perfect; it seemed maybe a little dull, maybe a little too blue. There were quite a few constraints--pardon me, parameters--to the choice, as well: vaguely the same gauge, washable, preferably gender-neutral. (The recipient is a boy baby, but he may someday have siblings.)

The ultimate winner was the pale green Koigu along the upper-left edge. If you don't agree that it's the best, please feel free to say not one word about it: everyone knows computers don't show color accurately, anyway.

And if you've got time on Sunday, you should come down and make your own one of these:

(For those of you who know my issues with felting, Jen did this one.) Class starts at 1:00.

Turnabout

And now, please join me in wishing a happy birthday to my friend and colleague Carol. With three little kids, she still manages to spin the yarn, dye the yarn, knit the yarn into a garment of her own devising, work in the shop part-time, edit Rosie Knits patterns from home, return e-mail within 15 minutes no matter what time of day or night, write a witty and informative blog of her own, and maintain her sense of humor.

(Though perhaps her biggest achievement this year was persuading Tom to allow a pet into the house.)

Best wishes for a great day and wonderful year, Carol!

A special message for Mrs. Myers

Dear Mrs. Myers,

I know it's not easy being pregnant -- the morning sickness, backache, and all those other unmentionable symptoms -- and I know it's even harder going through labor (oy!), so on behalf of the staff and customers of Rosie's Yarn Cellar, I would like to thank you for giving birth to Lisa however many years ago today it was. Lisa is an amazing woman and her personality, her intelligence, her sense of humor, and of course, her knitting prowess make Rosie's the special place it is for all of us.

Happy birthday, Lisa!

And thanks, Mrs. Myers.

Meet Dolly

She's another one of the projects we'll be doing in the Intermediate Class.

She's not finished, of course, but I can't tell how far from finished she is. I have a shawl on needles, her skirt isn't fastened in back, she'll need a blouse or vest or something . . . .

Thanks, though, to all at Knitting Circle this evening who advised on hair color. This was clearly the best choice. (I'm still thinking about ways to incorporate the orange eyelash.)

P.S. Because it's "Blog Against Sexism Day" (or was until an hour ago), let me take this opportunity to remind you: if you see a man in a yarn shop, don't assume he's buying a gift for his mother or waiting for his girlfriend.

Welcome Back, Patti!

It's not that we haven't always loved Great Adirondack yarns. It's just that they were very hard to buy, for us: no sales rep, no functional color cards, and when we'd see them in person--Stitches, MD Sheep and Wool Festival--we'd be overwhelmed by the crazy, feathered, sequined ones that grab all the spotlight.

Now, however . . .

. . . they're back. This photo is the colorway called Kenya. (My monitor is showing the purple tones a little bluer than they really are--think blue, green, and plum.) The yarns you see are Sirino (a fingering-to-laceweight silk/wool, 675 yds, upper right), Soxie (merino, 360 yds, left), and Silk Delight (100% silk, 263 yds, foreground). Here they are in Paprika:

No time right now to photograph the other colors, or the Nassau (silk/cotton) or Silk Noir. Silk Noir is an old favorite: if you've ever looked at the Landscape Shawl here in khaki and mauve tones, that's Silk Noir. It's a raw silk, not shiny, kind of rough-looking. 900 yards in the skein is enough for the shawl; $30. Or maybe that Lotus Blossom shawl from Fiddlesticks?

Those of you who aren't within driving distance, my apologies: you won't find these for sale on the website. I'm not trying to tease you. I've just learned the hard way that selling hand-dyed yarns online is a quick road to misery.

The next sound you hear will be the staff scratching and clawing one another for the chance to knit the shop model Clapotis out of the Silk Delight.

TiVo Alert

This Sunday, March 5, at 3 p.m., the Oxygen network is going to premiere a new knitting show. This episode features Adina Klein (an editor at Vogue Knitting) and Lily Chin. Whatever you think of the specific personalities (and let's keep those comments clean, please!), it should be worth checking out.

Oh, and the stuff in boxes we can't find room to unpack right now includes Nicole (from Adrienne Vittadini, with the new Spring Vittadini pattern book), Classic Silk (from Classic Elite, blended with viscose and linen, with a raw-silk look), and Candy (the hit Artful Yarn from last year, with a bit of elastic).

My Favorite Book This Season

Even without having seen all the new releases, even though I've got stuff in a book that's coming out this month or next, even though the Stitch'n'Bitch crochet book is gonna sell the pants off all of them--

My favorite new book this season is Inspired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis.

Some of the designs are more traditional, some are less, but they've all got the elements that are so hard to find in cabled sweaters:

-- Attention to detail, and interesting details. The necklines are carefully worked into the cable patterns. And check this:


It's part of this:


Which brings me to the next item:

-- Shaping. I don't think there's a single drop shoulder in the bunch. And you can see the side shaping in the photo above.

-- Sizing. Because the cables make for large pattern repeats, plenty of cable sweaters are sized "40-44-48-tough luck." The size ranges here include at least one that starts as small as 30" and at least one as large as 60".

-- Cool stuff. I'm not usually a fan of books that claim to show what "inspires" the designer, but I could look at photos like these for hours:



And I probably will.

Just In Case You Were Wondering

Ever wondered how yarn winds up where it does in the shop? Why this yarn on this shelf, in this bin? Of course you have. It probably went something like this: "So she said this one was the right gauge for my project, and this one, and . . . this one over here . . . and, wait, wasn't there one on this wall, too? Couldn't they just keep all the DK-weight yarns in the same place??"

You wish. So do we.

Most often, what determines a yarn's location is its put-up, which is the industry term for the shape of the unit: is it 50 grams or 100? And is it in a hank (like Manos or Peruvian Tweed), a twisty skein (like Rapture or Summer Tweed), a doughnut shape (Cashsoft DK or Natasha), a pull-skein (Alpaca Lace or Blizzard), or wound on a spool (Suede or Oriental [which is on sale, by the way])? Even with the versatile shelving system we've got in the West Wing (thanks again, Brent!), some yarns don't work in some places. Some yarns shouldn't be shelved at all, since the skein tends to fall apart as soon as you turn your back.

Or there are so many colors (La Gran) that you can't hope to show them all. This is a chronic problem with Big Wool, but we do it anyway: if it's a yarn we're constantly selling a lot of, we don't want to have to run into the back room for it every minute every day. So if projects frequently call for just a skein or two, we'll devote more shelf space to a yarn, so that people will be able to help themselves.

Which brings us to Provence. What are there, 50 colors? Through the winter, demand was low, and we let the color selection diminish, and we hung a skein of each color on a series of rods in the West Wing, near the other non-wool options (Manos Cotton, Celia, All-Seasons Cotton--see, we try to put yarns of similar function together!). But once the Spring magazines start coming out, and the Spring yarns come in, we're going to be reaching for Provence constantly. It's going to need some serious real estate.

In past summers, Provence has gone in the big glass bins in the front room. This has worked well for several reasons: the colors are very visible. There's enough room for all of them, and for more than just a skein or two of each (that fixture is the single most capacious in the shop, barring the Manos wall). Because the skeins are big, they don't avalanche out of the bins every time someone picks one up. And because Provence is the perfect yarn for so many Spring and summer projects all the time, people have to look at it--even though it's over the bench, where there are often people sitting. See, as prominent as that location is, customers often won't browse it at all; whether they're aware of it or not, they're reluctant to disturb anyone sitting anywhere nearby. So we've learned--it took years--that we're dooming a yarn to failure if we put it there, unless it's something that people just have to have: like sock yarn, or Provence, or (sometimes) Noro.

(Notice that it's not just the characteristics of the yarn that come into play when we're deciding where to put something: it's the characteristics of the fixtures, too.)

So Provence is going back into its old spot, here:

But wait! That space wasn't empty before. It was full of sock yarn. Where does the sock yarn go? We thought we'd try the gridbin at the bottom of the stairs--the small bins work best for the small skeins, and that wall is another one where people are reluctant to linger. (That's why the Koigu goes there: because people will do anything for Koigu.)

So we move the sock yarn here:

But wait! That space wasn't empty before. It was full of ribbon and fluffy stuff and things that are good for silly scarves. Hmm. Some went onto the dowels the Provence used to occupy, on the theory that the scarf season is winding down, so it won't be such a problem to have those yarns where people have to ask us to get them from the back room. Some moved to the bookcase by the register, because there were so few skeins left. Some went into baskets on the floor, waiting for inspiration. Some went into the sale bin. Like this:

Ta-da!


Frankly, that was a pretty simple move: time-consuming, but straightforward. So the next time you come into the shop and see a few boxes, like this:

--and then, a day or two later, you come in again, and see this:

--bear with us. It's not as simple as it looks.

And (Someone Else's) Finished Object

Ever wondered how a Clapotis would look in Mountain Colors' "Mountain Goat"? Roz found some of the color called Mystic Lake, and she wondered, so now you don't have to:

She was thinking about making one for her mom, but worried that the yarn (wool/mohair blend) would irritate Mom's skin . . .

. . . so this became just a sort of trial run at the pattern,

and Roz will have to keep it for herself. Poor Roz!

Medals and Munchies (or, Any Excuse for a Party)

It's official: we'll be celebrating the end of the Knitting Olympics at the shop on Sunday from 4:30 to 6.

(Some may notice that this overlaps the timeslot for Sunday's workshop--"Jump-Start Those Stalled Projects"--but there seems to be a sort of thematic link. Something like, "Be inspired; challenge yourself; nothing is impossible, not even finishing that [fill in dreaded project here].")

Come one, come all--official members of Team Philly, or of Team Wales, or unaffiliated participants, and spectators. Bring refreshments if you want; Rosie will provide some, too. And by all means, bring any Finished Objects you can.

Sigh of Relief

This

is why I've been so cranky about the Knitting Olympics.

Huh?

Months ago, a customer brought this in to be finished. She'd knit the cardigan and the matching dress, and wanted us to do the steek on the cardigan. (The dress had no steek and she finished that herself.)

Sure, we do steeks. Though usually, that's all we do: machine-stitch where the steeks go, cut them open, and hand the piece back to the customer to complete. I didn't really stop to think about the difference.

Or about the fact that most Dale Baby sweaters I've seen have been in the 6-month size, not the 3 year.

Time passed.

And when I finally had to buckle down and do it, it just wouldn't end. There's the neckband



and setting in the sleeves with their facings (the photo of which came out really bad, so just imagine), and the buttonband and buttonhole band:



(And a few ends to weave in.) And of course, all the bands are doubled, because they're turned under and stitched down to cover the cut edges of the fabric. I particularly hate having to do the buttonholes twice; I'm always sure they're not going to line up right. And I was on #1 needles, knitting tightly to keep the bands firm, and my hand hurt.

So along comes the Knitting Olympics, and I couldn't cast on anything new, and I couldn't even go on a UFO-finishing binge, because I couldn't do anything until this sweater was finished.

But at last, with help from Courtney in the last mile, the wretched Dale sweater is finished.

Cute, isn't it?

WIP

Is "Work In Progress" a standard knitblog abbreviation? Or have I imported it from my grad school days? Anyway, I haven't used it here before, so I'm obliged to provide the definition either way.

Because (with a little help from Courtney) I finally finished the finishing job from hell (pictures later), I'm working through the shop sample for the Lace Sampler Workshop:

(Blogging before coffee sure is difficult. The keys don't seem to be in the right place; I've backspaced and retyped the same typo 3 times, and resting my thumb too near the touchpad thingy on the laptop has caused me to exit the editing screen by accident. More than once.)
Anyway, I like the scarf so far. This is what it will really look like, and this is why we block:

I love being able to block things while they're still on the needle.
There are going to be quite a few more patterns--among the challenges the class is going to cover, we've got to consider a variety of different lace notations, stuff where the stitch count changes, things where markers won't work. And (regrettable but necessary) handling mistakes. (If there are other topics about knitting lace that drive you nuts, and you're free on Thursday evenings in March, let me know, and we'll work them in.)

One last thing: all you Olympic Knitters out there, I don't know the technical rules for the finish line, but don't you think there should be something--say, champagne and munchies--with the closing ceremonies next Sunday? Rosie's would be happy to provide the venue (though not the large-screen tv), and some non-Olympian fans to cheer you on as you frantically weave in the last few ends. What do you think?

You try it

All right, most of you know what the shop looks like: where do we put 30 colors of Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Cotton? It's put up in 50-gram bullet-shaped pull-skeins (that is, like miniature Encore).

This is not a theoretical question. Knitting Circle may have to sit on the stuff tonight. Hey, maybe we should offer a prize for the best solution!

Oh, and if you were wondering: 93 yds, cabled, mercerised, 5 sts per inch, says "Handwash" but I bet you can put it in the machine (we'll test and get back to you).

Just in time for the snow: spring yarns!

If you haven't visited the shop recently, be forewarned that there's all sorts of boxes full of spring yarns being schlepped in by the faithful UPS guys. When I came in Saturday, I pretty much stumbled over a box full of Rowan goodies -- Calmer, new colors of All Seasons Cotton and Summer Tweed, and more -- as well as some very interesting RYC stuff: a wonderful book with cabled and other textured sweaters, a very cute RYC kids book called "Classic Bambini" and new colors of CashCotton, among other things. RYC's Natural Silk Aran looks luscious and it was probably the most tempting of the new yarns so far. We got a few more colors of Debbie Bliss Cathay, and a new Noro booklet featuring Silk Garden Lite. I'm playing with some Classic Elite Premiere -- we got new spring colors in that, too, and it's an extremely soft, drapey blend of pima cotton and tencel. Provence is coming in, too, and you'll see the all-colors-of-the-rainbow display where the sock yarn used to be. Probably the most unusual new yarn is called (I think) Meditations: it's lavender-scented to provide you with knitting aromatherapy. Seriously. Even I couldn't make that kind of stuff up.

So if you need a lift after shoveling out this weekend (we got about 18 inches in my suburban neck of the woods), you might want to stop in and starting thinking about spring.

Info You Need

Whether you're participating in the Olympics or not, all knitters should read this knowledgeable advice about preventing knitting-related damage to your hands.

Also, though it's once again going to take a little while to get the new stuff onto the website, the spring yarns from Rowan have started to come in: Summer Tweed (including the two new colors, 540 Orient and 541 Blossom), All-Seasons Cotton, 4-Ply Cotton, and Calmer.

On the Fence

Anyone out there who hasn't heard of the Knitting Olympics? Unlike the sporting events in Turin, the Knitting Olympics aren't competitive; the idea is to challenge oneself as a knitter -- with a new technique, or unusual speed, or whatever. I've been completely undecided about participating, and I haven't even been sure about why. Mostly, it seemed like any challenge I set myself would be rigged: it would either be a project I could complete comfortably in the given time period (and where's the challenge in that?), or it would be a stretch, and I'd have to lose sleep, diss offspring, and neglect work responsibilities to complete it (and hate myself afterward, to boot). Either way, not much suspense. Didn't sound like all that much fun, either.

But as I thought last night about another of my hesitations ("You mean, work for 16 solid days on the same project?"), I thought suddenly about my unfinished tallit (which you can see here, though you'll have to scroll down quite a bit), and whether two weeks' work would complete it. And then I thought, how many UFO's could I finish in two weeks, if I put my mind to it, and didn't cast on anything new in the meantime?

[And then I thought, that's ridiculous. Surely I don't cast on a new project every two weeks. I mean, I can't possibly, right? Even though I mostly knit small stuff like hats? Even counting stuff for the shop that's mostly for display and may never get finished? All right, how often do any of you cast on a new project? Honestly. Including stuff that turns out to be just experimental swatching, that may never turn into a project, let alone a finished object. Confess. Inquiring minds need to know: how crazy am I?]

Now, one of the rules of the official Knitting Olympics is that one may not cast on until the opening ceremonies. So if I go on a finishing marathon, I'm ineligible, technically. Which is a shame, because I'd really love to see the "Team UFO" button. But I'm still really tempted. Anyone want to join me? We can have our own alternative to the alternative games.

And here, because I'm still trying to catch up and I know how boring a post without pictures is, are some snaps of Michelle's holiday knitting:

She made some socks (this isn't all of them),

and some catnip pillows,

at least one of which was, um, appreciated immediately.

We Don't Need No Stupid Groundhog

Spring is here! I don't have time to scan the cover, let alone anything inside, but the Spring Rowan mag (#39, for those of you keeping track) arrived this morning!

Lots of super-feminine stuff, and lots of non-knitted stuff--things trimmed in crochet, but also armbands and necklaces and headbands made of (hold onto your seat) macrame.

You'll have to come see for yourselves. I have to go back to counting yarn.

Tuesday

Sometimes, you just have to knit a hat. This one is Noro “Blossom,” a yarn which interested me not at all—right up until the evening it bashed me over the head from behind and needed to be knit into a hat. 2 skeins, color #5.

Andrea and I are finally getting along better:

Clear, simple, geometric lace pattern; stockinette base. About 7” wide right now (somewhat wider than I planned, but the pattern repeat dictated it), about 56 sts on #2 needles, for a gauge of . . . well, some things it’s better not to think about. Not that I have anything against fine gauges. Just that I’m not used to seeing them look lacy. I mean, lace patterns often use pretty skinny yarns, but think about it: they’re usually knit on larger needles, and the blocked gauge is more like 5 sts per inch. I don’t know what’s going to happen when this is blocked. I don't need to know.

We interrupt this broadcast for sudden emergency shoveling of Noro Silk Garden Light and Debbie Bliss Cathay--out of boxes, onto shelves, into backstock, into the dungeon--as usual, just when you think there might almost be enough storage space, it snows yarn.