Every part of the buffalo

I'm a sock knitter. This shouldn't come as a surprise to you.

And I have small feet - also not a surprise.

In the last few months, I've finished a pair of socks in Wollmeise Twin and Mountain Colors Bearfoot. Love both of these yarns very very much, and I loved the socks that resulted from them.

The Mountain Colors yarn I adore because it's a wool, mohair and nylon blend. Wool and nylon for wear; mohair for warmth. I anticipate that this will keep my poor feet very comfy this winter.

When I completed the pair, I weighed the leftovers, as I do, and I discovered that I had a little more than a third of the skein left.... I did a bit of thinking, and realized that I could get a pair of anklets out of the leftovers. Ideal for bed socks for the depths of winter...

so I divided the leftovers into two even balls (digital kitchen scales are very handy for this) and worked a pair of toe-up socks, working the legs until I ran out. I didn't even bother doing ribbing, just a loose cast-off at the top. The tops roll down fetchingly, and they'll keep me nice and warm in bed. I don't know that they'd stay up in my shoes, but that's not what they are for.

I had about a yard leftover total, once all four socks were done.

And as I'd blogged before, I discovered that the skeins of Wollmeise Twin are larger than usual - about 460m per 150gm skein - and that I was going to be able to squeak two pairs out of one skein. Which I did! The first pair top down, my usual, and then I divided the leftovers into two balls, and worked the second pair toe-up, until I ran out of yarn.

(Colorway is Birkenrinde, in case you're wondering.)

And a handful of yards left of this skein - it was clear that my weighing wasn't quite accurate, so to ensure that the two toe-up socks were the same length, I stopped one with a few yards of yarn left.

So: two skeins of fabulous yarn, three pairs of full socks and one pair of bed socks.

I am a happy knitter and my feet will be ready for winter.

Latest FO: The Godzilla Ridge Blanket

It may well be the best thing ever.

Go see, over at Knittyblog!

A Day of Classes at the Needle Emporium

I was the Needle Emporium this past weekend to teach some classes, and I'm pleased to report that a splendid time was had by all!

I taught two of my favourite classes: Entrelac and Finishing.

I love teaching Entrelac because it's a "stretcher" - it causes knitters of all skill levels and experience to stretch their skills. It's a fascinating technique, one that requires you to suspend your disbelief and work some pretty strange maneuvers - 'Whatdya mean I have to turn? I'm nowhere near the end of row!'. It's a great project for a newer knitter to learn some new tricks... I had a student once ask me for a project that would help her practice picking up stitches and increasing and decreasing... Entrelac is definitely it!

And it's a great project for an experienced knitter to challenge herself: it plays with a knitter's understanding of rows, and teaches some uncommon skills - pick up and purl, anyone?

I also enjoy the discussion that results about directional increases and decreases. Such fun!

Playing with the camera, I took a couple of pretty good pictures...

Here's G., a knitter of great skill and experience, pushing herself to learn some new tricks:

And here's L.'s "morning knitting class survival kit":

A good day for all concerned. Thanks to Julie for hosting, and to Beth for the cookies.

Winner of the Koigu and Patterns

The comments were lovely, thank you!

We had some poetry, we had some patriotism, we had some puns.

To keep it fair - and because I just couldn't decide - I used MS Excel's Random Number generating function, which landed on number 23. Number 23 is a comment from a knitter who logged in anonymously and signed in as Peggy.

So, mysterious Peggy: drop me an email at kate at wisehildaknits dot com and we'll get your goodies to you. (If I haven't heard from you by end of day Wednesday, I will draw another number.)

Thanks everyone!

Mini contest: Koigu and copies of two one-skein Koigu patterns

I've got a full skein of Koigu leftover from my book projects. (Wound, no label, but a full ball, and that's undeniably Koigu. We think it's color 210.)

It deserves a Koigu-loving home.

I've got two patterns that use a single skein of Koigu - Miss Otis Regrets

and the Open House Slippers

So. Tell me why you need them.

Leave a comment!  Best comment wins a copy of the two patterns and the sad lonely ball of Koigu.

New Pattern: The Lace 102 Sampler

The original, about
5 x 14 inches.

I teach a lot of lace knitting classes, and in my advanced lace class, we work a smaller sampler project. It's a fun and quick knit, and allows the knitter to experiment with a lot of different lace patterns. It's a small piece - too big to be a bookmark, too small to be a scarf.

Several students requested that I turn the pattern into a scarf... and so I did.

In addition to being a beautiful and fun knitting project, this sampler is designed to be a learning tool for lace knitters, as an option for those who want to expand their lace skills but can’t make it to one of my classes in person.

It features a variety of lace stitch patterns, all challenging in different ways, to allow you to experiment and learn some new techniques.

A proper scarf!

I’ve used some all-over patterns, and some single lace motifs worked on a plain background; I’ve used some lace with a stocking stitch ground (that is, with purl WS), some with a garter stitch ground (with knit WS); there are patterns worked on one side only, and patterns worked on both sides. There are patterns with variable numbers of stitches, and a pattern that featured delayed decreases. I’ve used some tricky and unusual stitches like s2kpo and p2tog tbl. And there are the often-feared Estonian nupps.

The sampler ends with an applied edging. Although this project is best tackled by a knitter with lace experience, everything is explained in sufficient detail that even an adventurous newer knitter could take it on.

Click to see the detail.

All pattern stitches are charted. (Some but not all have written instructions, also.) If you need a tutorial in chart reading, see this post on this blog.

Each individual pattern section includes detailed instructions and tips and tricks for handling the particular challenge of that pattern.

Using a single skein of sock yarn, it's a great way to grow your skills as a lace knitter, and have some fun along the way. The pattern has been thoroughly tested by both seasoned and newer lace knitters.

Available for $7.50 on Patternfish and Ravelry.

All the stitch patterns....

Leftie Knitting

Met a new student last night - the lovely N., who is a natural left-handed knitter. By that, I mean that she learned to knit left handed. She knits as a precise mirror of what I do. It's fabulous elegant and somewhat weird to watch her.

She came to my class with a friend, J., who is also left-handed. J. knits as I do, in the traditional right-handed manner. This caused some laughter and puzzlement in the class. Mostly the laughing was at me, as I tried to demo the M1R and M1L in the left-handed manner. I'm pretty clumsy with my left hand, so although I got the job done, it was neither fast nor elegant.

There are a few options for teaching knitting to the left-handed.

There's the "damn the torpedoes" method: teach 'em to knit the "normal" way - right handed, English. This is how my left-handed Mum knits.

Continental - yarn in left hand,
but needles still right-hand dominant.

There's the "a nod in your general direction" method: the usual needle orientation, but Continental-style, with yarn in left hand.

And then there's the "doing what comes naturally" method: mirror-image knitting.

Each is equally good; of course, there are some pros and cons. The "damn the torpedoes" method works best for a knitter who is reasonably strong with both hands, as you're still requiring precision movements from the non-dominant hand. The "nod in your general direction" method is a good mid-point, as it relies less on the right hand, and more control is with the dominant left hand.

Image excerpted from Trauermei tutorial.

For some lefties, however, knitting right handed just feels wrong. It feels unnatural. For those knitters, learning "true" left handed knitting is the best option. It's less common, and there are fewer resources, but I do like these two tutorials created by Trauermei:
Part 1 - casting on.
Part 2 - the knit stitch.

There is a downside to this method, however, which is why it's less common (other than the absurdity of watching a rightie trying to teach it): the stitches are oriented the other way on the needle so that decreases lean the other way. A leftie's k2tog leans left rather than right; a leftie's ssk leans right rather than left. For many purposes, this isn't too much of a problem, but when it comes to lace it's a critical difference... So although there's a gain in ease of execution, there's a loss in terms of ease of chart reading... decreases have to be switched.

Each method has something to offer, and as with so many things in life, there isn't a single "right" answer. If you're left-handed, it's definitely worth trying all three.

Are you left-handed? What do you do?

Kristi has written more on this topic for Knitty, and she lists some other resources.

On M1 and KFB, On Repeats & Clarity

Had an email this week from a knitter working one of the patterns, in my book, the Slouchy Hat.

She asked about the increasing.... she said that my pattern wasn't working out.

She was starting with 68 sts, and the instruction is as follows:

(K2, m1) around. 102 sts.

Our knitter reported that it just wasn't working. She reported that she was ending up with 90 stitches, and she'd tried it more than once.

I knew immediately what she'd done. It would be cheeky of me to suggest that she go and read the Shaping Chapter of the book, but this is one of the topics that this chapter addresses.

I replied to the knitter's email, and asked if perhaps she'd used KFB. Yup, that was it!

Here's the thing: a KFB is not the same thing as M1, and they are absolutely NOT interchangeable.

They are both increases, yes, but differ in a key way KFB takes one stitch and makes it into two, and M1 makes a stitch from nothing. (If I'm feeling cute, I refer to M1 - "make one" - as "magic one", as in "conjure a stich out of nothing".)

This matters, because using a kfb uses up one stitch of the round, and my pattern assumes you don't.

(I highly recommend you spend some time on the increases page of knittinghelp.com, and watch the video for my favourite M1 method here.)

So in this case, it works as follows:

(K2, m1) puts a new stitch between every pair of stitches - adding 34 to the

existing 68, to get the 102 required.

(k2, kfb) makes 90 stitches. Each group of (k2, kfb) takes 3 stitches and makes it into 4, meaning you work as follows:(k2, k2b) 22 times (getting you across 66 of the 68 stitches), and then presumably our knitter would have just worked k2 at the end of the row. 68 + 22 = 90.

Obviously, our knitter knew that something was up when her stitch count was off, and I'm glad she got in touch.

(This is also why it's always good to give a stitch count in a pattern after any increases or decreases, of course.)

But there was another, perhaps less obvious clue that something was amiss...

For me, when I say to work some kind of repeat around a round or across a row, e.g. (k2, m1), or (k2, p2), or (ssk, yo, k3, yo, k2tog) or whatever, I expect that you will come to the end of a repeat at the end of the row/round.

It's a given to me that if you aren't at end of a repeat at the end of the row/round, then that's a sign that something isn't right. In this case, there weren't enough stitches left to work another full repeat of the pattern stitch the way the knitter was doing it, and so that should have been a red flag.

Now that didn't occur to our knitter because, frustratingly, it's not a standard pattern writing convention. I make sure all my patterns, and the patterns I edit adhere to this, but it's not nearly common enough.

This is one of those details that some feel is perhaps a little too.. shall we say... anal-retentive... but I figure it's easy enough to do, and can only help the knitter.

Ok, so let's say I did want to do it the way the knitter had tried... I would have written it as follows:
[K2, kfb] to last 2 sts, k2.

Simple, and clear, no?

Yes, it does take a bit more thought and work, but I figure it's worth it. After all, the clearer my patterns, the higher the chance of the success the knitter has. And the more successful the knitter, the more likely they will be to buy my second book...

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UPDATE: Two excellent reader comments.

1) Yes, the kfb would look different than the M1 - M1 is intended to be reasonably invisible, and kfb leaves a distinct bump in a stocking stitch fabric.

2) Another commenter suggests that a knitter could use kfb instead of the M1, "as long as he or she is paying attention" - change [k2, m1] to [k1, kfb]. This is true - you'd get the required number of stitches, absolutely - but as above the kfb does look different. Plus it does indeed require "paying attention" - which is not necessarily what a knitter wants (or is prepared to do).

In summary, I only recommend using kfb when the designer specifically calls for it.

A knitter's worst nightmare?

Mauricio, my favourite waiter at my favourite restaurant told me an excellent story today.

He saw me knitting and said that I reminded him of his Nonna, his beloved grandmother.

Mauricio is the eldest child in his family, and for four years enjoyed being the only child. Midway through his fourth year, his parents proudly announced that a baby was on the way, and that Mauricio was to be a big brother.

His Nonna, an avid knitter, was thrilled, and did what so many expectant grandmothers do: picked up her needles to start making a blanket for the new arrival.

Mauricio wasn't quite so happy. As is the case for many first children, he wasn't at all sure what this was going to mean for him. He was upset.

How did he choose to express his unhappiness? He would sneak into his grandmother's room and undo her knitting...

Every day, she would make some progress on the project, and the next day, little Mauricio would undo it. Apparently, it became, in the eyes of a small boy, a rather excellent game of hide and seek: where did Nonna put the knitting today?

I can only imagine the mess a four-year-old would make...

And I can also imagine that a wise and loving grandmother would nod, smile, hug the boy - and then find a very high shelf to put the project on.

A perfect match of yarn and pattern

This is one of those times when a knitter's yarn choice is better than my original....

This is the Turtle Purl self-striping sock yarn in the Burberry colorway, used for my Herringbone scarf.

Seriously, how good is this?

Very proud of Brenda, and I can't wait to see her finished project.

Project Bags: Little Things I Love

I carry my knitting around. A lot. I'm a public transport user, and I never go anywhere without at least one knitting project.

I've used any number of little project bags to nestle into the corner of my purse: everything from purpose made knitting bags, to ziplock bags, to repurposed camera bags, you name it.

I met the lovely people of Della Q at TNNA, and they introduced me to a line of theirs I hadn't seen before: the Edict Project bags.

Naturally, the Sock Project bag was the most appropriate. It makes me happy.

In addition to being adorable, it's very practical. Large enough to hold the yarn, the sock-in-progress, any pattern notes, and the sock's mate (so I can count and make sure I've worked the same number of ribbing rounds on both), it's still small enough to tuck into my purse.

Della Q hass a whole range of these 'Edict' project bags.... some identify what you're working on: "Hat Project", "Sock Project", "Scarf Project", "Random Project".

Some clarify the state of your knitting: "Tangled String", "Handknit for you", "Knit with Love".

And some declare the state of your mind: "Shh.. I'm counting", "Naughty Knitter", and "Paws off My Knitting".

But best of all may be this one: "Cheaper than Therapy".

Reader Mail: On Stopping, or Not

I recently met a knitter, D., in a class.

We've been having an email discussion, and she made a passing comment at the bottom of her email...

"BTW, for when we knit late at night and we don't want to let go and stop... any suggestions?"

It made me laugh, because I knew exactly what she meant... I bet every knitter does. That compulsion to keep going, that need to work one more row, to get to the next step, to knit on, late into the night, when you know you should be asleep.

I'm often knitting to a deadline, working on design commissions and samples. For those projects, there's sometimes late nights. Right now, I'm working on a pair of mittens that need to be completed for photography, and I'm knitting on them every spare moment I get. Which includes knitting late at night. I can't stop, because there's a deadline.

But it's not the same. What D. is talking about is that compulsion to keep going on something for the sake of it. Because you're enjoying it. Because you don't want to stop.

This happens to me less often with knitting - because I am most often working on things I need to knit - but I suffer from it terribly when it comes to crochet.

I don't do much crochet professionally; indeed, I don't do much crochet at all. I rarely create crochet designs, and I don't often have the time to work on projects that aren't specifically design projects or commissioned work.  (This isn't a 'poor me' thing, I promise, it's just the state of my to do list.)

Because I don't really design crochet, when I do get to crochet, it's most often working someone else's project - those Noro crochet slippers, for example. And because I don't have a lot of spare crafting time, so if it's project from someone else's design, I need to really really want to work the project to push off work projects... and when I really really want to work the project, I really really want to keep working the project... and I don't want to let go and stop... There's a "just one more" element to crochet, too - just one more round, just one more motif, just one more slipper....

And so no, D., I'm sorry - I don't have any suggestions. Just suffer along with the rest of us :-).

Foot Sizing Survey Results

It's been a long time coming - for which, apologies - but the results of the foot size osurvey are now available, Over at the Knittyblog. Not only the data, but I've done some analysis on what the results mean for sock knitters and sock designers.

Let me know if the info is helpful!

Photo of the Day Has Been Dormant: Back At It!

Make this the last but most important lesson in my quest to become a better photographer: you can't get better if you don't actually take any photographs.

I got back at it this morning.

There's epic construction along my usual commute to Friday morning class at the Purple Purl. I've been trying a new route, the College/Carlton/Gerrard streetcar, and there's a 10 minute walk done Jones Avenue towards the shop.

It was a hot, bright morning, and I was looking around the unfamiliar neighbourhood as I walked. I loved the little peeks into the backyards through the alleys between the house.

This one seems particularly inviting: sunshine leading me down the alley, to an open gate, through which you can pass into a lush green garden. Urban oasis indeed.

I'm pretty pleased with this one: no edits made at all. I sort of wish the recycling bins weren't there, but they do add to the "urban-ness" of it all.

Hoist with my own petard

The problem with being opinionated about things is that they come back to bite you sometimes. And I've been bitten.

It's not uncommon to see an instruction like:

Knit, decreasing 12 sts evenly across the row.

I don't like these sorts of things, particularly for patterns aimed at less experienced knitters, because they can seem awfully intimidating - and they require either math or a high degree of confidence to power through. I understand why designers use them, absolutely - mostly to save space in the pattern - but they're scary for less confident pattern readers.

Now, the important thing to know is that ultimately, if the designer isn't specific how about to decrease, or where, then it doesn't really matter. You just need to get to the right number of stitches.

I'm working on some new patterns, with multiple sizes and multiple gauges, and I've found myself in need of the following instruction:

Knit, decreasing 6 (6, 6, 6, 8)/6 (8, 10, 10, 10) sts evenly around. 34 (36, 38, 42, 44)/26 (28, 30, 32, 34) sts.

The problem is that this particular pattern is aimed at newer knitters, and I realized that there was no way I was going to let myself get away with this. So I had to write them all out - 10 different rounds! It took a surprising amount of thinking.

The final decrease round.
Fingering weight version
1st size: (K5, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k5, k2tog) twice. 34 sts.
2nd size: (K4, k2tog, k3, k2tog) 4 times. 36 sts.
3rd size: (K4, k2tog) 10 times, k4. 38 sts.
4th size: (K3, k2tog) 10 times. 40 sts.
5th size: (K3, k2tog, k4, k2tog) 4 times, (k3, k2tog) twice.

Worsted version
1st size: (K3, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k3, k2tog) twice. 26 sts.
2nd size: (K4, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k4, k2tog) twice. 28 sts.
3rd size: (K4, k2tog) 6 times around. 30 sts.
4th size: (K4, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k4, k2tog) twice. 32 sts.
5th size: ([K3, k3tog] 3 times, k4, k2tog) twice. 34 sts.

I haven't proofread them yet, but I think I got them right. I hope. But most of all I hope this makes my pattern easier to work.

Interweave Knitting Lab California

I'm over the moon that I've been asked to teach at Interweave's fabulous Knitting Lab event in San Mateo, California this coming November.

I'm teaching two of the classes for which I am best known:

Two Socks In One: The War & Peace Method

The Sock Knitter’s Mount Everest? This class teaches the legendary technique for knitting two socks at the same time on the same needles, one inside the other, as mentioned by Tolstoy in War and Peace.  In the class, we’ll work a pair of mini socks using this amazing technique.  The design we work is top-down, but the techniques I demonstrate are easily applied to toe-up knitting.

Designing Custom-Fit Socks

Liberate yourself from pattern books, and ensure your socks really fit properly! Learn how to create a top-down or toe-up sock pattern for any yarn, and for any foot.  We’ll cover knee socks, and discuss special fit requirements like high arches, flat feet, skinny and not-so-skinny ankles. I’ll show you how to apply pattern stitches like lace, cables and colorwork, and how to manage differences in gauge and fabric stretch.  You’ll leave the class with a set of templates and guidelines for all your sock fitting needs.

and a new one:

Fair Isle Bootcamp: Design Your Own Fair Isle Wristwarmers 

This class will teach you everything you need to know to be a confident Fair Isle knitter. We’ll review the history of Fair Isle knitting, and discuss the types of patterns and how they evolved. Through practice swatches, you’ll master reading the patterns and charts, and working with multiple colors - both one-handed and two-handed methods, both in-the-round and flat. In the second half of the class, you’ll be provided with the motifs, templates and yarns to design and create your own pair of unique fingerless mitts.

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More info about the event here.

What I'm Knitting: Godzilla Ridge

Have you read my post over at Knittyblog?

This project is making me very happy, and it's coming along brilliantly.

I don't know why I always end up knitting heavy blankets or similar in the summer. Over the weekend, in temperatures in the mid-30s (Celsius), I was working on a bulky-weight cowl...

Chicago, Chicago!

With apologies to Frank Sinatra...

"Chicago, Chicago I'll show you around - I love it
Bet your bottom dollar you lose the knittin' blues in Chicago, Chicago".

Yes, I'm off to Chicago this October, to teach at Vogue Knitting Live.  I'm teaching several classes: Pattern Writing Skills, Design Your Own Custom-Fit Socks, Socks for Absolute Beginners (really! I can get beginners knitting socks! I promise!), Top Down Socks 101 and Toe-Up Socks 101.

I'm very excited - the class list is astounding and I'm honoured to be included with such luminaries as Nancy Bush, Sally Melville and June Hemmons Hiatt. More info here.

The Anti-Mentor

Totally off-topic:
This story isn't about me, but it begins with me.

I used to have another career. In an industry I didn't really fit into. I liked a lot of the work, but I never felt passionate about what I did, and never really felt like I fit in.

About 15 years ago, my paths crossed with Michael O'Connor Clarke. He hired me to do a job for which I had neither the experience nor the qualifications. I'm still not sure how it turned out for him, but it was terrific for me: I got some amazing experience, learned a whole load of new things, and found myself a mentor.

Michael was my mentor for a few years, helping me out as I muddled my way through, trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. And he listened to me and supported me when I went through a difficult time in my personal life.

And then at lunch a few years ago, he delivered his final and best act of mentorship: he told me to go away. We both knew that I was unhappy and hadn't really found my place in the tech world, but I didn't have the courage to get out.

He didn't want to be my mentor anymore because he didn't want me to be in the position of needing his help. He didn't want me to be in his industry anymore.

I'm not, and I'm happier and more fulfilled professionally than I ever was in my previous career. And Michael gets credit for helping me make that jump. I'll forever be grateful to him for that.

It was with shock and sadness that I learned yesterday of his illness. Michael has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, a very aggressive and difficult to treat cancer. I'm still processing this, I'll be honest. There is a call for support that has been organized by his friends and colleagues.

And old and very dear friend lost his father to brain cancer recently, too. I just don't know what to say.

Actually, I take that back. I do know what to say: Fuck cancer.

On the Road

This week I'm off to Columbus, Ohio, for the TNNA industry conference.

Other than TNNA, Columbus is notable as being the home of the much-loved Jeni's Ice Cream... I've heard so much about it. Apparently it's a highlight of the event, and people love this ice cream so much that they have it shipped across the country. (Image shamelessly borrowed from their site.)

I've stocked up on Lactaid and I'm very much looking forward to trying it!

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Of course, there are other, more sensible reasons to visit Columbus during the humidity season: so many knitters to meet up with, so many new yarns to fondle and drool over, so many new products to see... and so many opportunities to talk up my first book, and the coming second book... yes, that's right, I'm working on a new book. More details to come!

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Did you know that this week marks Knitty's 10th anniversary? My first contribution - "Socks 101" was the Spring of 2005 issue, and I've been honoured to have been a member of the team since 2008.