Archive for June, 2007
June 27th, 2007 at 08:58am
Under Yarn Store News
“At Cast On Cafe Yarn & More, the hot item is a bath mat knit with 100% organic Inca Cotton from Joseph Galler Yarns. It was designed by Peggy O’Grady, owner and has been very popular. Knitting for the home is great for the summer months!”
Visit Cast On Cafe at:
4055 Erie Street REAR, Willoughby, OH 44094. (440) 946-YARN.
castoncafe@sbcglobal.net
www.castoncafe.com
Tell them SweaterBabe.com sent you!
If you are a Yarn Shop Owner, tell us your news using our easy online form. We’ll include it in our blog and newsletter to 10,000+ knitters and crocheters!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 27th, 2007 at 08:47am
Under Knitting Questions and How to+ Ask SweaterBabe
Dear SweaterBabe,
I am wondering if you have any advice for someone wanting to start a local meeting for people who want to learn how to knit? I know there are several people in the area who would be interesting in coming to something like that, but nobody knows how to go about setting one up or getting a place to meet. I also don’t know how often it would be good to have the meeting. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
– Cristi
Dear Cristi,
What a wonderful thing to do! I can certainly give you some advice, and I’m sure there are others that might chime in on the comments to this post.
Here goes…
LOCATION IDEAS:
– Maybe a local coffee shop? Many coffee shops, whether the big chains like Starbucks or Coffee Bean, or the independant ones, have great comfy sofas/chairs or lots of seating that you can group together.
Visit a few. Here are the things I would consider:
-Do they have good/easy parking?
-Are they open to allowing small groups to gather? Maybe there are certain times of the day that the cafe is less busy and they would love the business?
-Will they have a minimum order per person?
-Do they have decent lighting if you are meeting in the evenings?
-Maybe they have a community board and will let you post a notice about your meeting there?
-Maybe they are even willing to provide a food/beverage discount if you are going to be regulars?
– How about your local library? Many local branches offer knitting nights, which I presume meant someone like you suggested it to them! Worth a phone call or a visit. Plus. GREAT air-conditioning and you can browse knitting books together! And, they will most likely post flyers for your knitting group meetings to the whole library community.
– Ask your nearby yarn shops. Many have knitting groups already set up or would be happy to host new ones. It’s great for their business and you and your knitting buddies get to knit in a very inspiring environment.
– Check if there is already a Stitch-n-bitch group in your area. I’d do an online search and see if you can locate one. There are so many across the U.S., it’s a great community to join!
OTHER THOUGHTS:
– Meet as often as there is interest. I think many groups meet 1-2 times a month. I think it depends on how many you have in your group as well. If you have 30 members, then having more frequent meetings might work as you may get your critical mass at most meetings.
– Communicate with your group via email if at all possible. It will make your life so much easier if you are the co-ordinator. Many groups set up a special Yahoo Group to do so. That way, you can easily send out an email to the group and be sure that all members should receive it.
– Keep it casual and fun. Maybe you can invite members to share their favorite cookies (and the recipe) at meetings.
– Set expectations in terms of whether your group is to “teach how to knit” or more of a “come and get some help here and there”. The more experienced knitters are usually more than happy to help the less experienced; however, if you are finding that those interested are total newbies, you’ll need to be sure you have enough experienced ones that feel comfortable teaching (and don’t mind taking the extra time) before you set up the meetings.
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 27th, 2007 at 08:37am
Under Yarn Store News
“Right now FELTING IS WHERE IT IS AT…it seems to be the newest “trend”…Cascade 220 is the wool most are preferring for these projects. The purses are giving people the opportunity to use their creativity!!! I AM IMPRESSED!”
Visit Village Yarn and Crafts at:
39315 Daily Rd., Fallbrook, CA 92028. (760) 723-YARN
www.villageyarn.com
Tell them SweaterBabe.com sent you!
If you are a Yarn Shop Owner, tell us your news using our easy online form. We’ll include it in our blog and newsletter to 10,000+ knitters and crocheters!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 15th, 2007 at 06:35pm
Under Knitting Questions and How to+ Ask SweaterBabe
Hello SweaterBabe,
I was wondering if you could help me figure out a part of a debbie bliss pattern that’s giving me a headache. Where it introduces an increase to the sweater it gives the stitch of the increase row, then says “cont in patt and inc in this was at each end of 5 foll 6th rows.”
This direction isn’t covered in any of my ‘how to knit’ books, and doesn’t make any sense. Can you tell me what it means?
Thanks,
Valerie
Dear Valerie,
Good question! Knitting patterns can seem so cryptic.
Here are a few translations:
“Continue in patterns as established, increasing one stitch at each end on the 6th row [from now] and every following 6th row 4 more times.”
OR
Let’s say you are currently on Row 10. Then, increase 1 stitch at each end on Rows 16, 22, 28, 34, and 40. That’s 5 increase rows, where 2 stitches are added per increase row = 10 added stitches. You can usually use whatever basic technique you like to increase at or next to the 1st stitch on an increase row and at or next to the last stitch on that same increase row.
OR
Let’s say you are currently on Row 10 when you read this instruction. It means:
Rows 11-15: Work even in pattern.
Row 16 (1st increase row): Increase 1 stitch at each end of the row = 2 stitches added.
Rows 17-21: Work even in pattern.
Row 22 (2nd increase row): Increase 1 stitch at each end of the row = 2 stitched added.
Rows 23-27: Work even in pattern.
Row 28 (3rd increase row): Increase 1 stitch at each end of the row = 2 stitched added.
Rows 29-33: Work even in pattern.
Row 34 (4th increase row): Increase 1 stitch at each end of the row = 2 stitched added.
Rows 35-39: Work even in pattern.
Row 40 (5th increase row): Increase 1 stitch at each end of the row = 2 stitched added.
This is a very common instruction in shaped patterns. I often have a separate pen and paper where I map out the rows (like I did in the 2nd and 3rd translations above) to make sure I do all of the proper increases.
Ideally, the instructions would confirm with you how many stitches you should have after all of the 5 increase rows so you can double check that you are interpreting the directions correctly.
Hope that clears it up for you!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 15th, 2007 at 08:02am
Under Cute Baby Photos
Here is the newest addition to our Cute Baby Photos:
“Here are some pictures of my daughter, Chloe, in the first thing I ever crocheted. She was 15 months old (it was 4 months ago). It’s the “Anarchy/Irony” hat from Stitch N Bitch Crochet. I actually made it for me, but she decided to try it on, so my husband grabbed the camera and started shooting.”
– Shonika A.
Send your favorite baby photos in hand-knit or crocheted projects to info@sweaterbabe.com. Be sure to tell us about the knitting or crochet project - where the pattern came from, what yarn you used, etc. We love to see them!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 15th, 2007 at 07:49am
Under Yarn Store News
“Our customers can’t get enough of Colinette’s new Jitterbug sock yarn! With colors like Fire, Toscana and Popsicle, the colors are unmatched by other sock yarn. Customers have been saying ‘I won’t knit another pair of socks with anything else.’”
Visit Colorado Fiber Arts at:
121 Broadway Avenue, Pueblo, CO 81004. (719) 543-1161.
info@coloradofiberarts.com
www.coloradofiberarts.com
Tell them SweaterBabe.com sent you!
If you are a Yarn Shop Owner, tell us your news using our easy online form. We’ll include it in our blog and newsletter to 10,000+ knitters and crocheters!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 15th, 2007 at 07:48am
Under Yarn Store News
“Felted, rolled brim hats; Last minute baby booties and cap; Nostepinne; Linen tote bags, and more!”
Visit Loose Ends at:
209 N. Williamson Avenue, Winslow, AZ 86047. (928) 289-4800.
LooseEnds@cableone.net
www.loose-ends-knits.com
Tell them SweaterBabe.com sent you!
If you are a Yarn Shop Owner, tell us your news using our easy online form. We’ll include it in our blog and newsletter to 10,000+ knitters and crocheters!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 13th, 2007 at 12:24pm
Under Knitting Questions and How to+ Crochet Questions and How to+ Ask SweaterBabe
Dear SweaterBabe,
How do you convert yards to ounces?
Dear Knitter/Crocheter,
You can only convert yards (a measure of the length of yarn) to ounces (a measure of the yarn’s weight) if you know how many yards there are per ounce or gram of the yarn.
This kind of information can be given on the yarn’s ball band/label or you may be able to easily find it online if you know the name of the yarn. Do a search and either the yarn company that makes the yarn or an online yarn store will have that information available.
Otherwise, it’s a bit of a guess. Why? Because yarn weight and length can vary a lot based on what the yarn is made of and it’s thickness. For example, a featherlight mohair that is sold in super fine or fingering weight, like Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze is sold as .875 oz/25g ball has a length of 227 yds/208m; whereas a bulky 100% wool yarn, like Brown Sheep Burly Spun, is a hefty 8 oz./229g hank, which has only a length of 132 yds/121m.
If you can’t find the yarn label or don’t know what the yarn is, I would suggest going to your nearest yarn shop, finding a similar yarn and seeing what it’s yarn label says for it’s weight to yardage ratio. Then, you can use this ratio to give you an approximation for your yarn.
Hope that helps!
SweaterBabe
P.S. Here are some math conversions that are helpful:
[Number of inches] x 2.54 = Number of cm
[Number of cm] x .394 = Number of inches
[Number of feet] x .3048 = Number of meters
[Number of yards] x .9144 = Number of meters
[Number of meters] x 1.0936 = Number of yards
[Number of grams] x .035 = Number of ounces
[Number of ounces] x 28.57 = Number of grams
For example, if you have a 50g ball of yarn, it is a 50 x .035 = 1.75g ball of yarn.
Happy knitting and crocheting!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 13th, 2007 at 11:54am
Under Knitting Questions and How to+ Ask SweaterBabe
Dear Sweaterbabe,
I thought I knew how to knit albeit simply! However, I am doing a baby jacket and have got to a row which says knit 1, yarn to front, slip a stich purlwise, yarn to back.
What does the yarn to front and back mean? I did what I thought was correct but my pattern looks nothing like the picture!!!
Also, does yarn to front and yarn to back mean the same as yarn forward and yarn backward? If not, what do these mean?
Thank goodness I have 7 months to knit this jacket!
Thank you so much if you can help.
Helena
Dear Helena,
Without seeing what the finished stitch pattern should look like, I do believe that the “yarn to front” and “yarn to back” are exactly as you first guessed.
“Yarn to front” means to bring the yarn (between the needle tips) to the front of your work, just like you do if you are ribbing (”ribbing” is like doing [K1, p1] over and over to get a ribbed fabric) and need to move the yarn to the front to purl the next stitch.
Simply put, take the yarn and bring it towards you by bringing it between the 2 needle tips and letting it sit in front of your work.
So, “yarn to back” means to bring the yarn to the back of your work, just like when you prepare to knit the next stitch while ribbing.
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 13th, 2007 at 10:20am
Under Knitting and Crochet News+ Updates
My latest obsession has been kimono sleeves! Here is the sample in a soft cashmere blend yarn from Classic Elite called “Princess.” Love the name and love that it is a soft and drapey yarn - perfect for floaty sleeves and spring/summer weather. I JUST finished writing up the pattern and will have it up in a few days.
Thanks for your patience, those that emailed me about this pattern!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
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