The Barbie Surprise Jacket, in action

Barbie helps Wilma lay out the squares for her Noro blanket....

KAL: The Slipper Suite

I've had a great response to my Slipper Suite pattern from the July 2011 issue of Creative Knitting magazine.

I'm very excited to announce that the lovely people at Creative Knitting have started a KAL for the patttern on Ravelry.  Join us in the group.

If you don't have the magazine, you can get a digital copy here.


I'm actually working on a pair of these slippers myself, with leftovers from Project Black Sock... I got the first one done in the spring, and have been suffering from a fairly bad case of second slipper syndrome...

(On a different note, my friend Franklin is entirely correct - it's really tough to take a good photo of your own foot, isn't it?)

And so I will be knitting along.

October & November Teaching Schedule

Wow!  A busy schedule.  I'm really excited about all my teaching engagements this fall.

I've got my regular teaching schedules at Lettuce Knit and The Purple Purl in Toronto.  All sorts of  fab classes - socks, both top-down and toe-up, the Baby (Barbie/Frankenstein) Surprise Jacket, Fixing Mistakes, Finishing, all sorts of things...

In addition, I'm teaching again at the Creativ Festival: Lace Knitting, my War & Peace socks, and my Expert Tips session. Details here.

I'm also teaching again at Shall We Knit at their fab new location in Waterloo. (They have a sock yarn ROOM.  A room for sock yarn. I feel faint just thinking about it.)

And I'm adding a new shop to my list: The Needle Emporium in Ancaster.  Very excited about this one - it's a great shop, and the people who run it are lovely.

Looking forward to meeting lots of new knitters!

Sock Summit Feature in Knit Magazine Issue 42

My article about Sock Summit appears in the current issue of Knit Magazine, on the newsstand in the UK and North America.

Barbie Surprise Jacket?

In the near future, I'm teaching a couple of classes on the fun, fascinating and sometimes frustrating Elizabeth Zimmernmann "Baby Surprise Jacket". This pattern is a wonder, and remains incredibly popular. It's fun to knit, and the resulting garment is a clever little piece of knitterly origami that, once folded, becomes a sweater.

Others - including me - have blogged about the project, and there are over 15,000 projects on Ravelry for this pattern. I would be willing to bet that this is one of the most-knit projects in recent history.

 The challenge with it is that in classic EZ style, the pattern instructions as originally given in her newsletter and books were... shall we say... casual and minimal... EZ liked a knitter to think for her- (him-) self, and so wasn't much for row-by-row instructions.

 As such, the pattern can be somewhat intimidating to a newer knitter.

 As is my wont, I've developed a mini version, to allow knitters to work through the construction in a short amount of time, to help them figure it out, and to get all their mistakes out of their system.... It was dubbed by V. as the "Barbie Surprise Jacket".

 I had a few keen knitters test out the instructions for me. One intrepid knitter, the lovely Liz, tested it out for me, and sent me this picture...

So if you've got a desk toy that needs a cardigan, I have just the class for you!

Sock Math: A Photo Essay

One skein of Wollmeise Twin weighs 150gm.

And I have small feet.



And one sock weighs 37 gm.



Therefore, one skein of Wollmeise Twin equals four socks.

WOOT!

Free Pattern: Worsted Weight Slouchy Hat

Worsted Weight Slouchy Hat
A simple construction to show off a gorgeous yarn.

Suitable as a first hat project, this is a quick and easy knit.

SIZES & FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
S: Fits teens and small women - 21 inch circumference and 9 inch length
M: Fits average women and small men - 22.5 inch circumference and 10 inch length
L: Fits average men - 24 inch circumference and 10.5 inch length
The hat should be a little loose - choose a size a little larger than your head size.

MATERIALS
1 (2, 2) x 50gm balls Liberty Wool (100% washable wool, 122yds/ball)
-sample uses colour 7897
-substitute 120 (150, 200) yds of any worsted weight yarn (e.g. Galway)
4mm 16 inch/40 cm circular needle
4.5 mm 16 inch/40 cm circular needle
1 set 4.5mm double-pointed needles
a stitch marker

GAUGE
20 sts and 32 rounds = 4 ins by 4 ins/10 cm by 10 cm in stocking stitch
stitch gauge is very important, round gauge less so

STITCH GLOSSARY
M1: I prefer the backwards loop make 1: simply make a backwards loop and put it on the right-hand needle.
S2kpo: Slip 2 stitches together as if to knit. Knit 1, then pass 2 slipped stitches over the stitch just knit. This is a centered double decrease that creates a nice vertical line.

METHOD
Lower Edge
With 4mm circular needle, cast on 92 (100, 108) sts. Join for working in the round and place a marker for start of round.

Ribbing round: (K1, p1) to end.
Repeat ribbing round until hat measures 2 inches from cast-on edge.
Change to 4.5mm circular needle.
Increase round, size S: (K8, m1, k8, m1, k7, m1) 4 times. 104 sts.
Increase round, size M: (K8, m1, k8, m1, k9, m1) 4 times. 112 sts.
Increase round, size L: (K9, m1) 12 times. 120 sts.

Body
Work even in stocking stitch until hat measures 7.5 (8, 8.5) inches from cast-on edge.

Close
Change to double-pointed needles when hat gets too small to work comfortably on circular needle.

Size L only:
(K6, s2kpo, k6) 8 times around. 104 sts.

Sizes S & L only:
(K5, s2kpo, k5) 8 times around. 88 sts.
(K4, s2kpo, k4) 8 times around. 72 sts.
(K3, s2kpo, k3) 8 times around. 56 sts.
(K2, s2kpo, k2) 8 times around. 40 sts.
(K1, s2kpo, k1) 8 times around. 24 sts.
S2kpo 8 times around. 8 sts.

Size M only:
(K5, s2kpo, k6) 8 times around. 96 sts.
(K4, s2kpo, k5) 8 times around. 80 sts.
(K3, s2kpo, k4) 8 times around. 64 sts.
(K2, s2kpo, k3) 8 times around. 48 sts.
(K1, s2kpo, k2) 8 times around. 32 sts.
(S2kpo, k1) 8 times around. 16 sts.
(S2kpo, k3) twice, s2kpo, k1. 10 sts.

Finishing
Weave in ends, and wash.

Free Pattern: Nearly Instant Stripy Noro Hitsuji Hat

Just in time for cooler weather, a new hat. I don't need to tell you, my dear readers, how much I love Noro yarns.

The new Hitsuji bulky weight is an absolute hoot - all those amazing Noro colours, and it knits up absurdly quickly. It's ideal for winter accessories.

Less than two hours' knitting, I promise.

Nearly Instant Stripy Hat
Suitable as a first hat project, this is an easy & ridiculously quick knit. Excellent for last minute gift knitting!

SIZES & FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
S: Fits teens and small women - 21 inch circumference and 8.5 inch length
L: Fits average to large women's heads- 22.5 inch circumference and 9 inch length

MATERIALS
1 x 100g ball Noro Hitsuji (100% wool, 100m/ball); sample uses colour 8
6.5mm 16 inch/40 cm circular needle
8 mm 16 inch/40 cm circular needle
1 set 8mm double-pointed needles
a stitch marker

GAUGE
12 sts and 16 rounds = 4 ins by 4 ins/10 cm by 10 cm in stocking stitch using 8mm needles
stitch gauge is important, round gauge less so

STITCH GLOSSARY
Kfb: Knit into the front and back of the stitch. 1 st increased.
K2tog: Knit 2 sts together.

METHOD
Lower Edge
With 6.5mm circular needle, cast on 38 (42) sts. Join for working in the round and place a marker for start of round.

Ribbing round: (K1, p1) to end. At this point, check to make sure the round is not twisted.

Repeat ribbing round until hat measures 1.5 inch from cast-on edge.
Change to 8mm circular needle.

Increase round, size S: [(K1, kfb) 9 times, k1] twice. 56 sts.
Increase round, size L: (K1, kfb) around. 63 sts.

Body
Body round: Knit.
Work in stocking stitch as set until piece measures 4 (4.5) inches from top of ribbing.

Close
Note: As you decrease, change to double-pointed needles when hat gets too small to work comfortably on the circular needle.

Round 1: (K5, k2tog) around. 48 (54) sts.
Rounds 2, 4, 6, 8, 10: Knit.
Round 3: (K4, k2tog) around. 40 (45) sts.
Round 5: (K3, k2tog) around. 32 (36) sts.
Round 7: (K2, k2tog) around. 24 (27) sts.
Round 9: (K1, k2tog) around. 16 (18) sts.
Round 11: K2tog around. 8(9) sts.

Cut yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail. Pull through rem 8 (9) sts to close.

Finishing
Weave in ends and handwash. Hat will relax a fair bit when washed, so don't be surprised if it looks a bit small when you're knitting it.