Archive for June, 2007
June 5th, 2007 at 08:22am
Under Yarn Store News
“I sent out an email asking if anyone was interested in a knitting Bible study. So many were interested that I added another time….and am doing another as soon as this one is over. I’m also planning a doggie sweater fashion show. More excitement!”
Visit Mrs. I’s Yarn Parlor Shop at:
201 3rd Ave E, Osceola, WI 54020. (715) 294-4775.
yarnlady@yarnparlor.com
http://www.yarnparlor.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 10,500+ knitters and crocheters!
By Katherine aka SweaterBabe
June 5th, 2007 at 07:26am
Under Yarn Store News
“Our Knit to Fit classes have been selling out fast — everyone wants to make chic, beautiful sweaters that flatter our figures and never sag or bag! Our other current sweater classes — First Sweater and Transformation Sweater — are also sell-outs.”
Visit A Knitted Peace at:
5654-C S. Prince St., Littleton, CO 80120. (303) 730-0366.
aknittedpeaceinc@comcast.net
http://www.aknittedpeace.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 10,500+ 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 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 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 08:37am
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 12th, 2007 at 07:19am
Under Knitting Questions and How to+ Crochet Questions and How to+ Ask SweaterBabe
Dear SweaterBabe,
I keep reading about making a ball of yarn before knitting a project. Apparently, you need to “re-wrap” the yarn into what I have heard described as “a ball that unwinds from the inside”. I cannot find any info that tells me HOW or WHY to do this.
Could you please explain.
Thank You from a new knitter (addicted to sock knitting, but have as yet to finish one)
Tracy
Dear Tracy,
That’s a great question that I get asked a LOT.
There are some situations where I would recommend you “re-wind” the yarn… but other times, I think it’s more a matter of personal preference and time. Some people really prefer balls to unwind from the center so the balls will not be rolling around. Others are perfectly happy with balls unwinding from the outside, as this is often what you get when you purchase the yarn as balls and don’t want to take the extra time to re-wind each one.
Here are some different scenarios and my advice/thoughts:
– If you buy the yarn as a skein, you can usually find where the yarn can pull from center of the skein, so just use that end and you won’t need to re-wind it into a ball. Otherwise, you can also use the end that is unwinding from the outside, in which case the skein will just roll around on your floor or table. HINT: You can “contain” the rolling by putting your yarn in a bag. I like to use the handled paper bags that can stand-up on their own, e.g. the ones you often get at boutiques or as gift bags. OR here’s an example of a product called a “yarntainer,” that was specially made for this purpose.
– If you buy the yarn as a ball, you can also often find the end that is coming from the center, in which case you won’t need to re-wind it. If you can’t find the center (you can’t locate the end without making a mess of the ball, etc.), then you can either knit or crochet from the ball using the end that will unwind from the outside OR you can “re-wind” the ball and create a “center-pulling” ball (explained below).
– If you buy the yarn as a hank, then you MUST first wind the yarn into a ball (center-pulling or just a regular ball) before you can use it. If you don’t, then you are VERY likely to tangle up the hank and end up with a big mess and lots of wasted yarn. Since more expensive yarns are often sold as hanks (because they are hand-dyed that way, hand-spun, or just look better displayed that way), you really want to make sure you take the time to wind them into the balls first. You may try asking the Yarn Shop staff if they can wind it for you, as they will often have a yarn swift and ball winder that can make it a cinch to turn the hanks into balls. OR perhaps they will let you use the swift and ball winder to do it yourself. If you will be doing it at home, see the technique tips below. Here’s what a swift and ball winder look like.
– If you are doing any kind of colorwork where you are using separate balls of yarn at the same time, balls that pull from the center are great to prevent the colors from tangling. BUT also, you can use the handled paper bags (one per color) or the special containers that I’ve seen at shops that have separate compartments for each color. If you use the bags or containers, balls that unwind from the outside are just fine. Here’s an example of a great bag for colorwork.
OK - so how do you wind a ball of yarn??
1) To wind a ball that pulls from the outside, you just take the yarn and start winding it around the palm of your hand a bunch of times. When it gets a bit bulky in your hand, take it off of your hand and turn it 90 degrees so you can wind around the middle of what you had wound around your hand. Keep going, winding around the mass of yarn and keep turning. As you turn and continue to wind, it will end up looking more ball like.
2) If you want it to pull from the center, the trick is to keep track of the center end and to NOT wind too tightly (or it will be too hard to pull the yarn from the center as you use up the ball). Start by keeping about 6″ of yarn out as a tail. Start winding the yarn while making sure this tail is ALWAYS sticking out.
Here’s the technique I learned… I line up the tail against my thumb (of my non-dominant hand, i.e. my left thumb since I am right-handed) and start winding the yarn around my thumb and the tail, keeping it loose so that my thumb is creating a little tunnel within the ball. It’s as if you were to wind a skinny band aid around your thumb, completely covering the tip of your thumb evenly. After winding around your thumb for a little while, you take out your thumb and you will have a thumb-sized tunnel/hole where the tail of yarn is sticking out. This is where the yarn will unwind from. Continue to wind the ball as for a normal ball, turning it to make it more ball-like, BUT always making sure you never accidentally wind over the thumbhole and lose track of the tail.
Do you have more suggestions on winding balls of knitting yarn? Feel free to submit your comments!
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 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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