Swatching

Swatching is one of the most fun parts of a new knitting or crochet project for me because I love testing different combinations of yarn, stitches, needles and even blocking methods (all of which can have a huge impact on a finished knitting project). 

If you've been reading my blog for a while you may have noticed that I often try out new stitches in a solid, light-colored yarn in order to compare and contrast them. The yarn I used in the photo is a basic fingering weight wool as I've been swatching stitch combinations for a new pattern for fingering weight yarn.

Once I settle on a few stitch favorites, I swatch them again in the yarn I'm considering for the design. And for every project, I always block the swatches in the same way I plan to block the project. 

Now I have piles of swatches and (being a thrifty person who hates to throw out something useful) I need to come up with an idea to put them all to good use.

Thanks for stopping by today, happy swatching!

February is for Knitting

Is there a month more suited to knitting than any other? I love to knit all year around, usually with wool or other warm, soft fiber regardless of the weather. Still, I have to admit that the chill of winter inspires me to knit even more than usual, and to think about it more when I am not actually doing it. 

It seems like December and Christmas are always such a hustle and bustle, and in January I tend to hide out from the world, recovering from aforementioned holiday craziness, spend less time on the internet and work on other projects, leaving the deeper cold of February as inspiration for what is often my most knitterly month.This February is proving to be no exception as I've been busily stitching away on my next pattern and currently have a huge pile of knitting on my desk (I'll show a peek when I get a chance to take a few photos). 

Our cold season is not usually extreme but has already been much snowier than usual - hurray! - and I believe all that white outside has had an influence on what I've been working on, although I'm normally a much more colorful person and I've already got some beautiful color combinations in mind...

Here are photos I took about a week ago:

 

Taking loads of photos has helped me learn to use the Nikon and various new lenses, and the snow was so beautiful I couldn't help but be inspired to get out there and take a lot of shots.

The knitting photo at the top of the post is a swatch I did in garter stitch with some vintage 90's wool given to me by my mother in law. I've no idea what the brand is but I love the thick-thin, nubby texture and beautiful natural white color. This swatch is not for my next pattern, just some ideas I'm fooling around with, but I might look for wool currently on the market with a similar texture. Since this ball is only 100 gr or so, it is destined to become an accessory of some sort but I haven't decided what.

Thanks to my friends who've emailed, PM'd or otherwise inquired as to whether I've fallen off the face of the earth, I'll be in touch with everyone asap, and I hope you've all been enjoying some time to cozy up with your knitting, crochet, spinning or other creative pursuits too. I'll continue to hibernate a little, waiting for the snow to melt and the flowers to appear, inspiring more photos and different sorts of knitting projects. 

What do you think? Is there a best month for knitting? Do you knit year around or does the weather affect what you knit or yarn you choose? Drop me a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Blueprint for Knitting

Since about the middle of last October our life around here has been frantic at best. Both knitting-wise and personal life-wise things were cranked up to boiling level and continued so through the holidays and until the end of this week when all of my previous knitting projects and a stint on jury duty were finally concluded. 

 

Since the first of the year, I've bound off the back of my gray hoodie, swatched a huge batch of stitch patterns (I love swatching), and begun another new pattern project - one that was really easy to pick up and put down during aforementioned jury duty and that, in light-weight yarn, would last a while. I'll try to get some photos and post more about it soon. 

We've finally received enough snow to matter here, and I can call this weird season Winter. I'm  hoping we'll soon have enough snow that I can try out the snowshoes I received as a Christmas gift. 

Our climate, although not fabulous, is nice and in the temperate range. We usually only receive a few weeks of extremely cold or hot weather through the year. But along with much of the US, we've been experiencing even milder than normal conditions, which was fine with me considering all the running around we've been doing.

Now that life's a teensy bit calmer, I'm taking time to chill out, knit some fun projects and clean house. And, um, I haven't yet packed up the Christmas things... But hey, it's 2012 and I'm excited about the possibilities the year holds!

This guest-blogger post from the Designsponge.com blog suggested a 'blueprint' strategy to get organized for the new year. 

I am using this idea, rather than traditional resolutions, as my outline for what I'd like to accomplish in 2012. 

One of the things I plan to do right away is hold another giveaway, so check back in the next week or two for details on that (I just need to photograph the loot), it's going to be a good one!

I can't wait to move on to to more of the things on my checklist - I'll be sharing a lot of them here throughout the year - and I'd love to know what knitting or craft-related goals YOU would like to achieve this year. As always, I really love to read your comments. 

Peace, blessing and happy knitting to you!

Swatching!

  
Swatching.  A word that inspires many knitters to run and hide.

Many of us find knitting a gauge swatch tedious, boring, or unworthy of our precious knitting time.  But it so often pains me to see people's projects end in frustration and frogging, or at best, in ill-fitting garments that might have been saved by a 30 minute swatch session.

Not only does knitting and properly blocking a swatch give you a stitch count per inch, it allows you to see and feel the knitted fabric, which is very often different from how the yarn feels and looks in the skein, and even from how it feels upon first knitting it.

This is not to say I love to swatch, but I've learned to enjoy/ endure it as part of the creative process as a whole, along with choosing yarn and stitches, doing the actual knitting,  finishing and blocking.  


For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to squeak in a few minutes every day to work several rows of various stitch patterns for a new cardigan.  I have more stitch patterns and ideas than I can possibly execute at the moment, so I want to try out some of my ideas in a swatch before knitting and ripping out over and over if I don't like it.

Sometimes when I'm deciding between many stitches, I like to work them (if not in project yarn, then in yarn of the same weight and similar fiber content as my project) one after the other, in a continuous length so that in the end I have a finished sampler scarf, like this one which took two skeins of Patons Classic Wool.

I cast on for several pattern repeats in width, adding between 3 and 7 edge stitches on each side, and then several repeats in length until I decide whether I like it or not.

If I like it, I put the scarf on hold until I need to try another stitch or have a bit of time to finish it.  If I don't love the current stitch, I usually just begin knitting a new one on the next right side row, or sometimes work several rows of garter stitch as a separation.  Edge stitch numbers are adjusted up or down a few stitches as necessary.  Usually I try also to align stitches so that purls, ribs, etc. match at least a little if possible.

The long lengths allow me to see a nice size swatch of the stitch, how different border or small patterns work with it, and get a better feel for the hand and drape of the knitted fabric.  If I need to adjust needle size, I do this then knit some more.  Some scarves I keep, others are donated to a local food and clothing pantry we support. 

It admittedly takes much longer to knit a scarf than a small square, so I usually reserve the large scarf/swatches only for very special projects or a pattern design.

If I'm planning a project in cotton, linen or other plant fiber, I'll often work out my stitch patterns first in plain cotton to make fast, new dishcloths.

I try to encourage myself to swatch by reminding myself that even small swatches, saved over time, can be turned into something useful.

There are, of course, Elizabeth Zimmerman's swatch hats. I've also seen folks on Ravelry stitch several small swatches together into patchwork scarves or cowls.  Swatches could perhaps be stitched into a small quilt or throw.  I've felted wool swatch squares then cut them into smaller pieces to pad the bottom of chair legs, or the back of picture frames to prevent scratches on floors and walls. Maybe some of you out there can suggest other creative ways to use swatches.

Once I have a couple of stitch favorites, I swatch them again as smaller, proper squares in the actual project yarn, to make sure I have the correct needle size.

That is what I am doing with this one in Elann's Peruvian Sierra Aran wool/ alpaca blend for my new cardigan.

Pretty examples that don't end up being used for current projects, but I don't want to part with just yet, I tag with stitch names, the book I found them in, or the actual graphed stitch.

Yes, this is partly why I am not a prolific knitter.  And, OK, so maybe I'm a teensy bit overly careful (or picky), but I only occasionally need to frog an entire project.  Perhaps some of this is due to my long swatching selection process.  That, or maybe I am just picky and extremely lucky.

TGIF

Much of the world is simmering in the midst of summer heat and we here in Ohio are no exception.  The air in the meadow this morning was so humid it was visible.  

I've been working on a couple of things for patterns that I can't show you yet, but I will as soon as I can.

And I've been experimenting with stitch patterns - those from books and some of my own invention!  Lace, cables, textures, etc.  You will definitely see many of these here too.  

It's been a long week, but as usual, I found some quiet calm in my morning ramblings before jumping into the day.   This requires me to get up in the wee hours of the morning instead of sleeping in, but I almost always find it's worth it. 

As I turned onto a path leading to an ancient Native American historic site, I was struck by the beauty of sunlight streaming through the trees.

Like many Americans, I am of mixed ancestral heritage.  I embrace the variety and character of cultures in my background, including Native American lineage.  In a nod to my Cherokee ancestry, I bring you this thought...

 When you were born, 

you cried and the world rejoiced.  

Live your life so that when you die, 

the world cries and you rejoice.

 A Cherokee expression

Peace and blessings to you today my friends!

Powerless

Sorry it's been quiet around here, our power and phones have been out for a couple of days and we've been scrambling to buy ice to try to salvage our food, rustle up candles and flashlights, etc! At least I got a little knitting time in. 

 

I've made some progress on two of my lace projects, one a floral/ leafy pattern, another is a slanting eyelet combination and I'll share more about those in another post eventually.  I'm cooking up two more lace jacket ideas, and a shawlette or two, or three...   If I like them I'll eventually post about those here too.  Also planning to cast on for some hats and maybe a mohair top soon.

Several people have written to ask me if I plan to write up a pattern for my blue Hempathy summer top.  The answer is...

Maybe.  I am currently focusing on cooler weather projects for upcoming fall, but I will likely play around with some ideas for this during the winter.  Probably it will not contain crochet however, as it seems many people do not do both crafts or at least, not enough to want to include them both in a single project other than for trim, binding off, etc.  So if I do this pattern I would consider an all-knitted variation, but I'm open to ideas on that.  

Another project I worked on this week is a wool version of a linen cardi-shrug I made this summer.  It's a texture piece and I'm swatching this in a copper-colored Malabrigo, but also considering a soft gray (I love gray!), and a wool/ alpaca blend in sky blue.  This will be extensively test knit before it is released (as all my patterns are), so look for it hopefully around October.

My husband and I are going on a yarnie adventure this weekend so I will have details to share about that soon.   Have a great weekend!