Tag: Knitting Techniques

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Making Movies!

Today whilst awaiting a UPS collection I have been making videos on how to do a provisional cast-on. I also recorded a bit on how not to do one as well!

When I first encountered a pattern that used a provisional cast-on, I thought I just needed to use a different yarn, cast on in my usual way and then change yarn and possibly needle size. Wrong! It’s called provisional because it has to be undone and removed and it’s really hard to remove a regular cast-on. See part two of the video for evidence of this!

Why did I make a video? Because it occurred to me that there are bound to be other knitters who are encountering a provisional cast-on for the first time. Especially if they are knitting Rhiannon Hap Shawl which launched as a single pattern last Friday and it would be helpful for them to see how it works!

I’m only going to upload Part 1 here, because it takes ages to upload and I don’t want to slow down your ability to load the blog page. Both parts of the video will be on my youtube channel later on.

Because it’s taken a while to get the video recorded, add captions and uploaded, today’s blog will be a little shorter!

I have sad news on the broad bean front. I planted six really happy looking plants into the veg patch last week and now there is just one half eaten plant left. The others have been munched away. I have however picked a lot of gooseberries and the blackcurrants and remaining redcurrants are ready to pick as well.

These gooseberries have been top and tailed and are now in the freezer ready for when it is cool enough to enjoy crumble again. There are more gooseberries on the bushes too – I’m just waiting for them to full ripen before picking them.

Maybe spiky plants are the way forward? Something that the slugs and snails won’t dare approach? Although, having said that, the two newest gooseberry bushes had very few leaves left by the time I got to them – caterpillars I think.

It was a busy knitting week last week. I got the rights back to Rhiannon Hap Shawl and launched that on Friday. Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of the pattern so far!

I posted off the big jumper and emailed the pattern and all ‘associated files’ to the publisher! (Also on Friday!).

I finished the gorgeous Tencel shawl I’ve been working on using yarn dyed by Penny Stitch Craft. I’m going to call it Draig y Mรดr which is Welsh for ‘Sea Dragon’. I love how the edging shaping works at the point of the shawl and it reminds me of dragon wings and I also love how the stitch pattern of the edging looks like waves and the main yarn colour (although called “Oil Slick” which you perhaps wouldn’t want to find in the sea) looks like the complex colours of the sea. Proper photos will follow soon! As will the pattern, once it’s been formatted and checked thoroughly – note to self: contact tech editor!

And… because I finished all those things I have been able to return to knitting the edging on my new sample of Elinor – another hap shawl! I turned the final corner yesterday and I’m on the final side. Only 40 reps of the edging left to do!!

What have you been up to this week? K x

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Twisted

Two cabled hand knitted tam style hats lie on a wooden table. The one on the left is burnt orange with a cream one overlapping it on the right.
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Am Byth MKAL is done! This is me wearing Size Three of the four. I love it and it feels nicely snug on my head without being tight – though you can see how the twisted ribbing is having to stretch! The cover picture of today’s post has two hats – there’s a dark orange one on the left hiding underneath the cream one. The orange hat is Size Four. I used the sewn cast-off I demonstrated in the video on my website for both of my hats – it has such a neat finish.

Blocking a tam style hat like this is no more complicated than giving it a soak in lukewarm water, rolling it in a towel to absorb the excess water and letting it dry flat – basically, giving it a handwash.

Some people have found the brim fit to be a little loose, which is a shame. I’m going to add a note to the full pattern to say that if you are in doubt about which size to choose to go down a size rather than up. Another option if most or all of the hat has already been knitted is to add more decreases just before the brim and/or to work the brim on 3mm needles.

Also this week, I cast off the Confluence Cowl and gave that a gentle soak. It is currently still a rectangle, but I’ve folded it (in the pic on the right) ready for the seam that will turn it into a cowl. The zig-zag lines shown in the pic on the left are inside the folding, but will become visible when the point folds down. You can also turn it inside out for a different look!

Mary W Martin Knits designed this pattern and it’s one of her fusion knitting technique pieces. It’s a way of knitting that I’d never encountered before and it’s absolutely ingenious! If you fancy a challenge, I highly recommend exploring her designs.

As part of my continuing preparations for Buxton Wool Gathering, I sourced some new stitch marker pots as the company I previously got them from no longer sold them. These ones don’t have screw lids, but I’ve found that twisting them helps to remove the lid without throwing the contents everywhere! I’ve waxed and buffed them and burnt designs into the lids. Being slightly larger and more expensive than the original pots I had, the price will need to be a little higher, but not much; these ones are ยฃ5 and ยฃ6 (the large ones at the back are ยฃ6).

I’ve also been printing lots of patterns and making sure I’ve got enough of the kits I want to take with me. Buxton is less than three weeks away now and I’m really looking forward to it!

This piece of knitting may not look especially exciting at the moment (but it will!) and I have been very pleased to be able to get back to it. Last week I mentioned I’ve had two submissions accepted and whilst I’m able to work on the patterns for those, the yarn is not yet here, so, with the socks, cowl and hats complete, I can return to Umbriel! I started this sweater at the Knit Tea Retreat in October, having bought the yarn last April at Yarn O’clock. I’m going to do as much of it as I can before the commission yarns arrive! The yarn is Cirro from The Fibre Co and it’s an alpaca and merino wool blend – and the finished sweater will look something like this (though I am making mine a bit shorter):

This photo is one of the ones from The Fibre Co’s website. Umbriel is designed by Sylvia Watts-Cherry and it’s available directly from them, either as a pattern or as a kit, and on Ravelry as well. I love the construction – in the round from the bottom up from the hem and then pick up stitches for the sleeves at the armhole, work short rows for the sleeve cap and then work in the round down for the rest of the sleeve. It’s very understated too, with small panels of lace at the neckline and on the sleeves.

Part Two of Branwen knit-along shawl was published in Issue 186 of The Knitter on Feb 16th. You can see the five sections quite clearly in this photo that was shared on The Knitter’s Instagram page, as each section changes colour. I’ve used two colours of West Yorkshire Spinners Fleece and alternated between them, which pulls the different sections together nicely into one coherent shawl design.

We spent some time in the garden this afternoon, planting out the contents of several pots that have been very patiently waiting for our attention. One of them had a self-seeded sycamore tree growing in it that had rooted through the bottom of the pot and into the gaps in the flagstones beneath! It is so nice to be out in the garden again and for it to be just warm enough not to need to be wrapped up in so many layers that we can’t move. The hellebores and snowdrops are looking super and the new primroses are settling in well too. Lots of daffodils are coming up in the lawn, both front and back and it’s starting to look truly springlike. I’m just hoping the possible return of the ‘Beast from the East’ that keeps being promised on various news platforms doesn’t suddenly arrive and freeze all these delicate blooms.

Anyway, that’s all from me today – I’m heading back to my design spreadsheets! Stay safe, get some sun on your skin if you can and do something that makes you happy this week. K x

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Put Your Best Foot Forward

A panoramic photo showing one left foot and five right feet on a pale gold carpet. The left foot is just touching a red foam mat.

Sometimes photographing knitting has surprising results! I was trying to get a shot of something that is 220cm long and I couldn’t fit it all in, so decided to try the panoramic feature – I wasn’t expecting it to give me five right feet!

It seems appropriate as a photo for today (though I’ve cropped it to remove the knitting as that is yet to be published), as I want to write about sock knitting.

A panoramic photo showing one left foot and five right feet on a pale gold carpet. The left foot is just touching a red foam mat.

There are many ways to knit a sock: top down, bottom up or even flat and seamed!

Heels can have a variety of structures including the afterthought heel where you knit the whole sock as a straight tube and then add the heel in afterwards.

Needles also give a range of choice – double pointed needles (dpns), a tiny circular needle, two circular needles or one long one using the magic loop technique. There are also flexible needles that are a cross between dpns and circular needles that you use in a set of three.

Depending on the needles you use, you can knit one sock and then the other, or both at the same time – or even knit one inside the other!

With all these options there are bound to be some techniques that a knitter favours or dislikes.

Personally, although I generally love using circular needles for most things, when knitting socks I tend to return time and again to double pointed needles – those or the flexible version.

I also prefer to knit them one at a time, top down, with a reinforced slip stitch heel flap and a gusset structure. My lovely wife and I both find this type of sock fits us best. Short row heels are great for self-striping yarn, but I haven’t yet managed to get the fit right for myself.

I’ve finally reached the foot of the second sock of the pair I started in October (!) using RiverKnits‘ Open Day 2022 Special in the colourway ‘Ankh Morpork’, having finished the gusset decreases this afternoon.

The joy of hand knitted socks is that you can make sure they fit you: if you have particularly pointy toes you can adjust the toe shaping to suit; if you have one foot a different length or shape than the other you can make them slightly different; if, like me, your ankles/lower legs are larger than your feet your socks can have more stitches in the leg than the foot. Shop bought socks do not offer this type of customisation.

For me, once I reach the heel flap on a sock my progress tends to speed up. I think because there are small clear sections it’s easier to plan and see the end result: I’ll knit the heel flap and heel turn one day, the gusset decreases another and then I’m on to the foot and it’s not long until the toe decreases start. That might also explain why I’m not a big fan of afterthought heels – knitting a long tube with no shaping until the toe feels a bit endless!

Heel Flap, Heel Turn, Sock Gusset

I’m teaching a workshop on sock knitting at Yarn O’clock on February 16th, 6.30pm – 9pm. There are one or two spaces left. Contact Anne at Yarn O’clock if you want to book.

We won’t be working on a full size sock, but one very similar to the advent mini socks; that means you’ll be able to work through all the sections of a top down heel flap sock in one workshop.

My intention is for my RiverKnits socks to be finished by the workshop so folk can see how the structure scales up to full size.

In case you thought I’d forgotten about it, my Am Byth MKAL is all up to date! Part Three will be released on Friday 10th and I will be uploading a video for one of the cast-off options. I’ll share my completed Parts 1 and 2 here next week (and on social media this Thursday).

The garden is showing signs of spring! We have snowdrops, primroses, hellebores, cyclamen and crocuses in flower and there are some very early daffodils about to open. I can’t remember if I told you we planted about 70 in the late autumn, mostly in the lawn, with flowering times from late Jan/early Feb until late May. It’s good to see them start to emerge. The rhubarb is also starting to peak above ground level again as well. Here is one of the front garden borders with lots of lovely flowers in bloom:

As you can see, I don’t believe in removing all dead leaves from the borders – the worms will do that eventually and I think it helps protect the ground from the worst frosts.

That’s all from me today. Take care, stay warm and do something that makes you happy this week. K x

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Something New

Three sets of stitch markers from Yarnistry lie side by side on a wooden desk. Each set is on a wire loop attached to a rectangular white card. From left: 6 acrylic sweater shaped markers with different types of glitter embedded, 8 wooden Christmas themed markers, 8 acrylic circular markers with snowflake designs.

These beautiful stitch markers arrived today. The postman was a little concerned as the corner of the box was a bit squashed and water damaged, but I checked and everything inside was untouched! They are made by Yarnistry and they are super – I highly recommend having a look at her Etsy shop. There are lots of different items on offer – including glow in the dark stitch markers!

Last night’s workshop at Yarn O’clock went well. There were five lovely people there learning new ways to cast on and cast off and which ones work particularly well for different stitches or different purposes.

We covered four of the six samples on the notes I’d prepared for them: Garter stitch with a crocheted cast-on and a basic knitted cast-off, stocking stitch with a cable cast-on and a graft, ribbing with an alternate cable cast-on and sewn cast-off and lace with a long-tail cast-on and a Russian cast-off. We didn’t have time for the pinwheel cast-on and picot cast-off or the two-colour braided cast-on and cast-off – but we did only have two and a half hours!

They sound like simple things, but pairing up the right techniques with the right stitches makes such a difference to the finished piece of knitting and it never fails to delight me when something ‘clicks’ for someone or they learn a technique they then really want to use in a specific project.

It was the first workshop I’ve given in the shop itself since the before times and it was nice to be back, surrounded by yarn. In the early part of the year we were in the very chilly church hall, all spaced out and masked. Later in the year we moved to the Daniel Owen Centre cafe space and now we are back in the shop. We have smaller groups in the shop than in the cafe or the church hall, partly as a result of the lovely new arrangement of the shop and the beautiful new wooden counter that Anne has, but also to avoid overcrowding the space.

We were all so engrossed in what we were doing that once again I forgot to take photos of the event!

The next workshop I am giving is an Introduction to Two Colour Brioche Knitting on Thursday December 8th and I am determined to remember to get some pics then. This workshop will also be at Yarn O’clock in Mold, and there are a couple of spaces available if you would like to join us! Ring Anne at Yarn O’clock to book a place (01352 218082).

Fasten Off Yarn-a-long begins this Friday and I am delighted to be one of the participating designers again this year – and it begins with a pattern sale! Fasten Off YAL is an off-Ravelry event with a focus on patterns that are accessible (size-inclusive, colour-blindness friendly etc), and all designers have to have their patterns available on at least one platform other than Ravelry.

From November 25th until December 8th all my available individual patterns will have a 25% discount ON PAYHIP when you use the code “FO2022”. I am only putting the discount code onto Payhip, but as my website is linked to my Payhip store you can still use this discount code if you buy a pattern via my website. The only patterns it won’t work for are ‘Leaf & Vine’ cardigan as you can only buy that through KnitPicks until 2024 and the three eBook collections.

Have a look at the Fasten Off Yarn-a-long website – there is lots of info there about how you can get involved. There are games and prizes and all sorts of fun to be had. And because it’s a ‘yarn-a-long’ and not just a ‘knit-a-long’, many of the designers will be offering crochet designs, and maybe even loom knitting or Tunisian crochet designs!

You may have seen that Ceridwen has come home from The Knitter. I’m busy putting the pattern into my own house style and taking, editing and adding new photographs. It will be available as soon after the 8th December as I can manage, and there will be a new pattern discount exclusive to newsletter subscribers!

I’m also in the last stages of getting the new charts for Nevern ready to publish. Following some photography requests from KnitPicks, it occurred to me that the six squares all joined up make a jolly good lap blanket, so my plans are having a mini re-jig.

Rather than publishing the charts simply as an extension pack to Nevern Throw with the joining information only in the original pattern, I’m now thinking of publishing it as Nevern Lap Blanket (a little sibling to Nevern Throw), with all joining instructions included and highlighting the fact that the charts between the two patterns are completely interchangeable and all come from the Nevern Cross. What do you think?

There are several other things in the pipeline too and some exciting news about something I’m doing next March that I’m looking forward to sharing with you very soon!

Til next week then, take care out there, K x