Over at Knittyblog...

See pictures of my finished Must Have Cardigan!

And read a reminiscence about the dark days of the 1990s, when I first started to seriously knit... 

Silly things I've knitted, #748 in a series: a bonnet for a pepper grinder.

A 1980s vintage pepper grinder, no less.

A couple of years ago I published a pattern for a baby bonnet with ears, based on a classic design.

I teach a class on this pattern. As is my way, I designed a mini version that can be quickly knitted so we can get all the way through it in a reasonable amount of time in class, and I can make sure to cover all the required skills.

Hence, the mini baby bonnet. Which PERFECTLY and rather creepily fits my terrible tacky pepper grinder.  (Note to self: buy a new one.)

On Gauge Math: Even a Quarter of a Stitch Matters

I was teaching a knitting class the other day when much to the surprise of my students, a math class broke out.

A student who will shall call G. is working on a sweater. Because G. is a sensible sort (who has known me long enough to know I would tell her off if she didn't...) she swatched.

The gauge required is 8 sts/4 inches.  Before she measured, G. did something we all would do: she divided. 8 sts for 4 inches - that's 2 sts an inch.

So G. measured her swatch and saw 2 stitches per inch. She was good to go! She had needles, yarn, and a plan for a fabulous quick knit jacket for early spring!

Now, being a sensible sort, G. decided to consult me to see if I agreed with her results. And it was a big horrible no.

I measured 4 inches, carefully counted the stitches, and got 9 stitches in 4 inches. 9 stitches in 4 inches is definitely not 8 stitches. 9 stitches in 4 inches is 2.25 stitches an inch; 8 stitches in 4 inches is 2 stitches an inch. Now, the difference is only a measly quarter of a stitch. G. had measured 1 inch, and in the fuzzy, fluffy yarn G is using, that quarter of a stitch over an inch was pretty hard to see.... it's a mistake we might all make, I don't blame her one bit.

G. is a lovely person, and she would never say so, but I had the distinct sense that she felt I was making a mountain out of a molehill: she really couldn't see why I was so worried about that quarter of a stitch.

But here's the problem: what seems like a rounding error - a tiny little fraction of a stitch - can make a HUGE difference. Enormous. Ludicrous, even.

The finished size of the garment is 44 inches, and you cast on 88 stitches for the full body circumference. 88 sts at 2 sts per inch = 88/2=44.  Perfect.

But at 9 stitches per 4 inches... 88 sts at 2.25 sts per inch =88/2.25 = 39.1 inches around.

Yes, that's right. A quarter of a stitch difference makes for a nearly 5 inch difference in the finish garment.

It turns out that your parents were right - math does matter!

Crochet Sock Yarn Blanket: The Pattern

After posting pictures of my progress with the Sock Yarn Blanket, I've been asked about the pattern.

The good news about this is you only need a basic knowledge of crochet to work it. Perhaps get an expert friend to start it, but the rest you can do on your own, I promise. As long as you know how to chain and work a double crochet, you'll be good.  There are excellent crochet tutorials on StitchDiva's site. If you're completely new to crochet, start there with the chain stitch and double crochet.

For my blanket, I used sock yarn (I may have mentioned that) and a 3.5mm/E-4 crochet hook.  But you can use anything.  Just make sure the yarns being used are all roughly the same weight, and use a crochet hook a size or two larger than you would knitting needles for that yarn.

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Using my non-professional crochet pattern writing skills, here's the Granny Square Pattern/Tutorial:

START: Chain 6.

Join the chain into a round with a slip stitch.

FIRST TIER: [Double crochet three times into the hole of the round. Chain 2.] 4 times. Join to the start of the round with a slip stitch.

This gives you four groups of three double crochets around the round, with holes in between.  These holes are the corners:

SECOND TIER: Chain 2. Double crochet twice into the chain space in the row below just at the foot of that little chain. This is the first corner.  (The chain 2 counts as the first double crochet to make a group of three.  You're always working in groups of three double crochets.)

[Chain 1. Double crochet three times into the corner 'gap' of the previous round. Chain 2 (for the corner). Double crochet three times again into the corner 'gap' of the previous round.] 3 times.

Double crochet three times into the final corner 'gap' of the previous round. Use a slip stitch to join this to the top of the double crochet group where you started the round.

Again, you have four corners, and then each side has a gap between the groups of double crochets:

As you work a tier, you will add two more gaps on each side, between the corners.

THIRD TIER: Chain 2. Double crochet twice into the chain space in the row below just at the foot of that little chain. This is the first corner.

[Chain 1. Double crochet three times into the 'gap' of the previous round. Chain 1. Double crochet three times into the corner 'gap' of the previous round. Chain 2 (for the corner). Double crochet three times again into the corner 'gap' of the previous round.] 3 times.

You should be at the final side now.

Chain 1. Double crochet three times into the 'gap' of the previous round. Chain 1. Double crochet three times into the final corner 'gap' of the previous round. Use a slip stitch to join this to the top of the double crochet group where you started the round.

CONTINUING: From here, every tier is the same...
Chain 2. Double crochet twice into the chain space in the row below just at the foot of that little chain. This is the first corner.

Work across the sides as follows:
*[Chain 1. Double crochet three times into the 'gap' of the previous round. Chain 1.] Repeat until only the 'corner gap' remains.
Double crochet three times into the corner 'gap' of the previous round. Chain 2 (for the corner). Double crochet three times again into the corner 'gap' of the previous round.]
Work from * twice more.

Work across the final side: [Chain 1. Double crochet three times into the 'gap' of the previous round. Chain 1.] Repeat until only the corner gap remains.

Double crochet three times into the final corner 'gap' of the previous round. Use a slip stitch to join this to the top of the double crochet group where you started the round.

And then keep going. And going. And going.  Until the blanket is big enough, or you're out of sock yarn leftovers.  (Ha!)

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An excellent more detailed Granny Square Tutorial can be found on Ravelry, here.

Matching one's hair to one's shawl

This is the Herringbone Shawl for which I'm teaching an class at Shall We Knit, modelled by the fab and stylish boss-lady Karen.  I do love Karen and her ever-changing hair colours. If I lived closer, I think I might go visit her hairdresser...

She's worked it in Kauni, and my god it looks great.  I think I might know what to do with that ball or Rainbow Kauni that's been marinating in my stash.

Podcast and Interview

I've been doing a bit of promotion for the book, and I had the honour of being on the WEBS Ready, Set, Knit Podcast this week.

I was also interviewed by the lovely Robin Hunter for her blog, about the process of writing a book.

Upcoming Teaching & Events

Because I love knitting and my friends in KW, I'm spending Valentine's Day with the Kitchener Waterloo Knitters' Guild. I'm speaking at their February Meeting.

Each year, the Guild has a theme... this year it's all about a New Take on Old Traditions. I'm speaking about how the internet has changed knitting.

This blog being a marvellous example of that...

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And I'll be back in the area again the weekend of March 3 & 4th... I'm teaching at Shall We Knit. The class list is available on their website, and you can register there, too.

I'm teaching my 2 hour Continental Knitting bootcamp. Become a faster knitter! Get ready for stranded colourwork! Rest your aching wrists! This is the class in which I demonstrate the legendary Norwegian purl... learn to purl without moving your yarn to the front...

Saturday afternoon it's the 3-hour Knitter's Toolkit, in which I answer all those pesky questions that go answered... why are there so many "make 1" increases, and which one should you be using? What's the best all-purpose cast on? How do you achieve that elusive loose cast off? And I'll discuss swatching and blocking and joining yarn.  Come with your tricky questions!

Sunday it's all about skill builders:

Introductory Cables - come and make my cabled coffee cup cozy and learn how to make cables!  Coffee will be provided...

And my Herringbone Lace Shawl - an ideal first lace project, it introduces you to safe, easy and fun lace knitting.  I teach you about the magical top-down shawl works. A great way to use up those single skeins of sock yarn.

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And look for me on the schedules at the Needle Emporium and at the Creativ Festival in April.

The Spiral Shawl of Insanity and Blindness; the Wonder of Blocking, Part 2

Way back in August of last year, I started a shawl project.  The shawl of insanity and blindness, as my friends called it.

I'd fallen in love with the Spiral Shawl in Meg Swansen's "A Gathering of Lace" the moment I laid eyes on it.  When I needed a travel project last summer, it seemed like just the thing.

And naturally, because I'm crazy, I chose a black yarn.  Malabrigo Sock, specifically. I may be crazy, but I'm not insane... if I'm knitting a lace project in black, I figured I'd give myself a slight break and not use a laceweight.

Malabrigo Sock is one of my favourite lace yarns: the colours are gorgeous, it's soft and drapey, and it's smooth and easy to work with.  (Less keen on it for socks, I'll be honest: the softness and drapey-ness that make it so good for lace make it too fragile for socks.)

Bets were taken on which I'd lose first: my eyesight, or my sanity.  I had nearly 900 yards of sock yarn in black, and I was proposing an enormous lace project.

I worked on the shawl on and off throughout the fall, as travel permitted: it went with me to the UK, I took it to Rhinebeck, and it spent a fair bit of time travelling around Toronto with me.

I tried not to set myself a deadline, because I knew it was going to take a while... as it got bigger, the rounds got longer, and by the time October arrived, each round was taking me about 15 minutes.  And that was only about half the size I wanted.

But I kept working on it, between other projects.  Trying not to count, trying not to set expectations about when it would be done.

And then one day, it was done... about one and three quarter skeins of the yarn, and a huge crumpled mess!

Well, not that huge, actually.  I'd done some math (as is my way), and I knew that I'd had to stop where I did to make the edging pattern work out evenly... but unblocked it was about 36 inches in diameter.

And then I blocked it.  It was a time-consuming thing... after a long soak and a quick roll in a towel to get most of the water out, I had to pin out every one of the edge points, nearly 100 of them.  (And then keep the dog off it, but that's a separate issue...)

And it went from a crumpled 36 inches in diameter to 54 inches!  And it's fabulous.

Keen eyes will notice that it's not perfectly round - I had a heck of a time with that, so one side is a bit wonky. Even keener eyes will notice a few dark spots - these are where I made corrections to mistakes - specifically picking up extra stitches where I missed yarnovers, and so the fabric looks darker because I've got an area of tighter stitches.

But I love it to bits, and these imperfections aren't noticeable in the final project.

I am pleased to report to the doubters that I finished it within 6 months of start, and my sanity remained intact.  But I did recently have to get new glasses...

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Leftover Sock Yarn Blanket Update

A while ago I blogged about a project idea: the Leftover Sock Yarn Blanket.

The idea is to create a crochet blanket out of my sock yarn leftovers. I started in August with a tiny square leftover from my most recent socks, in Colinette Jitterbug:

In October it had grown a little, and I'd added in yarn leftover from a pair of socks in my book, Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in Autumn Flame

I've been working on it on and off, adding in bits and pieces from the leftovers bucket over the past few months.

The other day I decided to give it a quick block to see how it was looking.... 

and it's now over 30 inches square.  There's some Koigu in there and Socks that Rock, and some of the last Vanderrock yarns, and two different Zauberballs.  Up next: I've got a bright orange.

The neat thing about crochet is that you've only got one live stitch, and so with the simple clip of a stitch marker, it's secure and can be used as a blanket.  

I'm keeping a bag of sock yarn leftovers with the crochet hook.  My plan is that this blanket will live on the sofa, and every time I feel like a bit of crochet, or after I've finished a pair of socks, I can dip into my bag of leftovers and add a round a two.  

I just have to figure out how to make sure the dog doesn't eat the marker... 

On Learning: Continental or English?

No too long ago, I found myself teaching a learn-to-knit class with a large group. I'm an English-style knitter myself (that is, yarn in right hand, like so), and that's the way I've always taught beginners.

But I've been teaching classes on Continental knitting (yarn in left hand, like so) of late, and it's been making me think.

After all, learning to knit English style (that is, yarn in right hand) is actually pretty tricky, and not very efficient.  I mean, you're holding both a needle AND yarn in your right hand, as below...

which is all well and good, until you have to wrap the yarn.

Beginner knitters tend to drop the yarn between stitches, and even knitters who have managed to figure out how to hang onto the yarn with their right hand (as in the pic above) struggle with the wrap.  Most of them end up having to try to hold both needles in their left hand as they pick up the yarn and wrap it around the right needle.

And it's neither elegant nor particularly easy.... check out what I'm doing with my left thumb:

So for this group of beginners, I decided to go Continental.  With the Continental knit stitch... that is, with yarn in left hand.

Using this method, you can keep a firm grip on the right needle as you "pick" the yarn and wrap it around the needle.

Little did my poor students know that I was conducting an experiment on them... I want to see if an average
collection of novices found it any easier to learn Continental than English.

After a fair bit of practice with a continental knit, once I had a sense they were comfortable, I suggested to some of the students that they might want to try wrapping the yarn with the right hand instead. I presented it casually, as an option for students who were more comfortable working with their right hands.

Of 7 in the class who tried both, 5 ended up keeping the yarn in the left hand, and 2 ended up with it in the right. Not scientific, by any means, but I though this was an interesting result that confirmed my suspicions.

The key, of course, is to ensure that no matter what students end up doing, that they are wrapping the yarn the correct way. And, perhaps more to the point, to help knitters understand that where and how they hold the yarn is a minor choice in how they knit, and it doesn't affect in the least the finished product or the instructions.

Any other teachers of beginner knitting classes tried the same thing? Which way do you prefer to teach newbies?

On Being Naive

"Naive" has a number of connotations...

having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique.

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that I have a design and an article in the Spring2012 issue of Interweave's Sockupied e-magazine.

Thrilled!

It's a cabled sock design, with a feature I call my "naive" gusset.

Back when I was living in New York, I was working on my first pair of toe-up socks. Socks being ideal plane knitting, I took the project with me on a flight to Seattle.  It's a long way from New York to Seattle, and I had the centre seat in the back row of Coach. And then women on either side of  me were definitely not knitters. Which meant that when I took off my shoes and socks to try on my WIP, I got some very funny looks.

And then when I realized the sock didn't fit as written, and started frogging it, I got even funnier looks.  The original blog post about this is here... 

The issue was that I've got a high-ish arch, and a straight up non-gusseted short-row heel just doesn't fit me.  If the sock fits snugly in the leg and the foot - which I like! negative ease is good! - then it won't fit around the arch and my heel.

Being stuck on a flight without internet or reference books, I improvised.  I worked some decreases before the heel turn to add a gusset to the foot, and then, after I turned the heel (on the usual number of stitches), I decreased the stitches away. Naive, absolutely.  But it worked brilliantly, and I love how these socks fit.  And I love how they enable a knitter with an arch to take an otherwise great but gusset-less toe-up sock design, and make 'em fit.

This is all outlined in the new Spring 2012 issue of Sockupied, along with a pattern for a cabled sock (slightly asymmetrical, as is my way).

Take a look! Let me know what you think!

Winter Has Returned: Need to Finish that Second Sock ASAP

Remember that skein of Qiviut sock yarn?

Qiviut is 8 times warmer than sheep's wool. And it's now 8 times colder than it was when I bought the yarn.

Well, ok, that second bit might not be scientifically accurate, but it certainly feels that way.

I've been working on these socks on and off for a couple of months, but the winter has been so mild this year that I haven't really felt pressured to finishing the project. Last weekend, however, winter arrived in full force and I'm now entirely focused on getting the second one done.

How I Spent the Weekend: A Photo Essay

Book Preview

I know, I know. I've been talking about the book a lot recently.

I'm very pleased to announce that we have made a free preview available online.

And if this works, embedded here...

Beyond Knit & Purl -- Kate Atherley

It's a few select pages, the table of contents, and some of the project photos.  I hope it gives you a sense of why I'm proud of it, and why people I respect an awful lot are saying nice things about it...

And perhaps if you like it, you might wish to buy it.. ?

The coffee cup cozy in the picture is the Mini Project for the cables chapter.  It's a quick and easy way to try out a cable for the first time... an evening's worth of knitting, not a huge investment of time, and a great confidence builder.  And it's useful! I do recommend you knit it in a yarn that matches how you take your coffee.  Mine is a very dark shade of espresso brown...

All the sections - Shaping, In the Round, Socks, Cables, Lace and Colorwork have these Mini Projects.  And three other projects, too, to allow you to expand your skills.

(Once again, awesomely fab pic thanks to Caro Sheridan. She even brought the coffee cup with her from Boston when she flew up to Toronto to do the photography.)

Beyond Knit & Purl

I'm very proud to announce that my book is complete and ready.

"Beyond Knit and Purl" is the book that takes knitters from being confident with their needles to being confident about patterns...  it went to print on Tuesday, coincidentally my birthday.

It's available for purchase NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW from Cooperative Press.

Digital only - fulfilled immediately, $16.95. Digital and physical copy, $26.95 plus shipping.

Shops around the Toronto area will be carrying it, and stay tuned for news on other places to buy it!

The Wonder of Blocking

I've said this before: always block before you sew up.

Like this:

Blocking helps with a number of things: the pieces lie flatter, which makes seaming easier. It takes care of any shrinking or stretching that might take place, so that you don't end up with puckery seams.  (You prewash fabric before you sew it up, don't you?  Same deal with knitted fabric.)  It also makes the fabric smoother and more even, and therefore prettier - even more to be proud of.

And it helps in other ways...

I was waffling on what size to knit when I started this cardigan, and didn't have access to a sample to try on. I cast on for the XS, being a little sort of person. It sat for a while, and last October, at Rhinebeck, I got a chance to try someone's on.... it fit perfectly, and then naturally, the wearer broke the news to me that it was the size larger than I was knitting.

This is where blocking really becomes miraculous: there's about an inch and a half difference between  the XS and the S, and I was easily able to stretch the pieces to the dimensions of the S.  (It helps that the yarn I chose might be slightly heavier than called for in the pattern.)

Yes, those with keen eyes may recognize this as the legendary Must Have Cardigan.  I am a sucker for a good cabled sweater, and this one is an excellent example of the form. 

I am working it in Galway, which at various times in history has claimed to be an aran, but in my experience has always been a worsted.  The swatch was, after washing, somewhere in between... 

I cast on for it years ago - around the time Steph was knitting hers - and it's been resting in my stash with only part of the back complete.  I picked it up again this fall, after seeing the one at Rhinebeck, and I've been quietly working on it, between design projects.  Just today I finished up the fronts, so that all the body pieces are done. To break up the finishing work some (consider this your bonus tip! for the day), I've finished up the body pieces and will sew the shoulders and work the button- and buttonhole bands now, before working the sleeves.  This will give me a chance to assess how long I want the sleeves to be, as I'll be able to put the body on, figure out where the sleeves will hit my shoulders and measure down from there.  Clever, eh?

One from the back catalogue: Santa Hat pattern

A free pattern for a Santa hat... (with US needle size conversion fixed). Neither of the yarns are available anymore, but you at this time of year you can easily find nice quick-knit yarns in the bulky section.  Lion Brand Wool Ease "Thick & Quick" would fit the bill very nicely and inexpensively.

The fur yarn used for the pattern was a good stable bulky yarn with extra fuzziness that made a good fabric on its own.  If you can't find something similar, use a nice chunky weight smooth white wool held together with a fuzzy/furry/eyelashy sort of thing.  Lion Brand's Festive Fur would work brilliantly.

Enjoy!

Estonian Mitts

Our friend I. is Estonian... her parents came to Canada from Estonia in the 1950s, and although she was born and bred in Canada, I. is in many ways a true Estonian.

She and her partner made a trip to Estonia this summer, to tour the homeland together.

Naturally, as knitter, I asked them to bring me something back - something knitted.  I told them I didn't care what it was, or how much it cost, as long as it was handknit and local in origin.

Check out the thumb - the colorwork lines up perfectly.

And boy did they come through: they brought me back this tremendous pair of Estonian mitts.  They are the classic shape and style, with fabulous colorwork.  Although neither I. or her partner E. are knitters, they managed to ask a few key questions to get some info for me about the mitts they'd chosen.  They were definitely hand-knit (by someone's grandmother, naturally!), and the stitch pattern is apparently regional, associated with Tallinn, the city in which they were bought.

They bought the mitts at the city's Knit Market - known as the 'sweater wall'.  Fab picture here, on Flickr.

Let me say that again: In Tallinn, Estonia, there is a market area that specializes in hand knits. More info and droolworthy pictures here. Many of the vendors are locals, selling their own work and work of other locals.

The work of Ms. Viira.

In addition, they came upon and fell in love with the store NAiiV, run by the very talented knitwear designer Liina Viira.  Ms. Viira is of Estonian background, but was born and raised in Stockholm.  Her work combines both Scandinavian and Estonian techniques and patterns, but with a modern spin.  Beautiful, beautiful stuff.

Next time I'm going to give them a blank cheque and a empty suitcase so that they can bring me everything back.

More Streetcar Knitting

As a follow-up to the article about me knitting on the streetcar, the Toronto Star has created this really great video...

Some great Toronto scenery, lots of gratuitous sock shots, and a bunch of knitting.

Karen's First Sweater

Image courtesy Karen Kwinter/Canadian Living

Over the late summer and early fall, I helped out the lovely Karen with a project.

We were introduced at the Purple Purl, and the girls there told me that Karen needed to knit a sweater.  We've all been there - we find a sweater pattern we just plain NEED to knit.

Karen's situation was a little different, however.  She's a very stylish style editor at Canadian Living, had been inspired by the amazing knitwear in the fall and winter lines of her favourite fashion designers, and she decided that she wanted to make herself a sweater. The thing was that she was a novice knitter, and she was working to a deadline.

Karen is a woman possessed of excellent focus and perseverance, and in less than 7 weeks from our first meeting, she had a most excellent alpaca sweater that looks great and fits her beautifully.  She blogs about the process here.

I'm incredibly proud of her.  Check out the pictures in the January issue of Canadian Living.