What makes a great knitter?

I used to attend a craft group at a local church. One day I was taking a break from knitting and sitting with the cross stitchers. This particular table had a self elected “leader” who made sure we all knew her opinions about this craft. Her big “thing” was the state of the back of our projects. In her opinion, the back must look as neat as the front. Well....if I could have super glued my project to my lap I would have! In hindsight, my work wasn't overly untidy as I did make sure to snip threads and to sew ends in instead of knotting, but the way she was going on made me feel like I just wasn't good enough. Needless to say, the next week I scurried back to the safety of the knitting group!

When I look at sites like Ravelry I am amazed at the awesome talent in the knitting and crochet world. As I gaze longingly at the lacy shawls, complex arans and beautifully crafted socks, to name but a few, I sometimes get a sinking feeling in my stomach that says “you could never do that”.

Why on earth not? What makes one knitter better or more competent than the next? Obviously there are a myriad of reasons, but I would like to demystify some of the hype about what makes a great knitter.

Firstly, do you love knitting, no matter what skill level you are currently at? If your answer is yes, then in my opinion you are a great knitter! By the way, feel free to substitute crocheter whenever you like. I love both crafts and struggle with some of the concepts in both areas so you are not alone.

Secondly, do you feel bad if you only use cheaper yarns/straight needles/patterns published by large yarn companies? Don’t fall for this one! As long as you enjoy what you do and are proud of your creations, you can use whatever yarns and tools you like! Yes, I will admit there is a lot of support for boutique designs and hand spun/hand painted yarns these days. This can only be a good thing, as it keeps the knitting world evolving and interesting, but that surely doesn’t exclude the knitter who loves making granny square rugs out of acrylics, or sticks to what she or he knows works.
I've added some picks here of 3 pairs of socks that I wear a lot and that all have built in "issues".  The first pair, apart from being a bit big, have been hiding a dropped stitch which I only noticed today!

Heirloom Jigsaw socks that were a bit big but still fit nicely inside my winter boots

Wendy Happy socks that could have been a bit tighter

Naturally Waikiwi socks that strangely turned out different lengths!

Lastly, are you willing to keep trying until you fix the mistake/learn the new stitch or technique? Then you are a great knitter. Don’t think for one moment that prize winning garments were created without mistakes being made along the way. You can be sure where there are knitted rows there will be some hair pulling and swearing. Just because you don’t admit to it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen!

Christmas is coming!

And are we all prepared....nope!  My Christmas gift giving will be mostly achieved by post, as 3 children and 4 grandchildren live in Canberra which is about 3000 miles from me in Perth.  I live with my daughter and her 16 month old son Liam so we will be having a quiet Christmas day at the beach with Liam's aunt and her brood.  Ya gotta love summer Christmases!

So, what to make for christmas presents that is quick and easy?

Dish or washcloths come to mind.  These little cloths are an awesome way to test out new yarns and stitch patterns.  Once you have a couple of standard patterns in your box of tricks, they can be whipped up in an hour or so and matched with some lovely handmade soap for a gift for a teacher, daycare leader, workmate or anyone you can think of who would appreciate a small gift.  Knit up a small stash and you will never be short of a last minute present.

Leaf Lace Washcloth

The best yarn to use for cloths is cotton, bamboo or a cotton/acrylic mix.  These dry quickly and can be thrown in the wash or soaked in a mild bleach solution to clean.  They may fade over time but as they are a working cloth, we can forgive that!  I have cotton washcloths that I have been using for over a year and they are still doing their job, as long as I am there to direct them!

Some yarn suggestions - Heirloom Cotton, Heirloom Bamboo, Twilleys Freedom Sincere, Wendy Sorrento.

Here are some handy links to free washcloth patterns -

Knitting Pattern Central - pages and pages of free patterns for almost anything you can imagine!  Their sister site Crochet Pattern Central is another mine of information.

Ravelry - This is probably the largest knitting and crocheting resource in the world.  Although you need to be a member to use and view the site, joining is free.  Once you're in, you might never want to leave!

Knitting on the Net - another free site that includes a brief description of each design.

Dish and Wash Cloth Mania - a blog dedicated to this noble pursuit!

Washcloths and dishcloths are fairly forgiving so you don't have to use the recommended yarn if it isn't available where you are.


Other gift ideas are socks, shawls, toys, gloves, hats and scarves.  Socks and shawls can be quick and easy or intricate.  You can choose to make a simple design using a self-patterning yarn which does all the work for you, or go all out and use a luxury yarn for a special gift.

Scarves and cowls are hugely popular gifts.  A small scarf like this design from Tikki's blog takes a couple of hours and is a great stash buster.  I made mine from Naturally Aran Tweed (I did say in a previous post that I was going to use Filatura di Crosa Lovely Jeans but picked up the Aran Tweed instead!)

Paula's Scarfette Naturally Aran Tweed

Some lovely sock yarns from our shop are -

Wendy Happy - A 4ply blend of soft bamboo and nylon, great for warm weather as the bamboo has antibacterial properties to help keep your feet sweet;
Heirloom Jigsaw - A 4ply self-patterning wool/nylon blend that is hard wearing and looks great;
Naturally Waikiwi - A super soft 4ply blend of Merino wool, nylon, alpaca and possum make for a very special gift.
Twilleys Freedom Gorgeous - 8ply bamboo/nylon blend, again wonderfully soft to work with.

Crochet Amigurumi Tiger

Toys are another popular gift item.  Amugurumi, which originated in Japan, is the art of making small, crocheted (they can also be knitted but crochet is more prevalant) whimsical toys.  Some of them remind me of the manga style of cartooning, where heads and facial features are exagerrated.  There is a great tutorial here  The best yarn to use for toys (in my opinion) is a basic wool or acrylic.  These yarns are hard wearing, easy to use and buy, and come in a huge range of colours.  Some of my favourites are -

Naturally Loyal - 8ply 100% wool which is soft and easy to work with;
Heirloom Dazzle - 8ply 100% acrylic in a large range of plain and variegated colours;
Heirloom Easycare - A 100% wool crepe which is ideal for toy making.

Filatura di Crosa Solo 1 Minuto Scarf in Boysenberry

If I was in a real hurry  I wouldn't even knit!  I'd just give people a no knit scarf that they can make themselves.  A brand new one that has just arrived in Australia is Filatura di Crosa Ci Piace and Solo 1 Minuto.  Each 6m hank of soft squishy furry yarn can be made into a lovely narrow scarf (keep an eye out for narrow scarves as they are the next big thing).  You can mix and match colours and even plait them as a variation.

Filatura di Crosa Ci Piace Scarf in Hot Chocolate

Anatomy of a Knitting Disaster

My latest blog is supposed to be about what makes a great knitter.  Instead, it has turned into a tale of woe...you know the thing..."when good projects go bad".

It all started well enough.  I signed up for a Mystery KAL (Knit-a-long), which for those who aren't familiar, is a pattern that is released to the knitters in stages.  The design becomes apparent as you progress with the steps.  The design was a boy's or unisex jumper (I assumed it was a top of some sort).  I had chosen Wendy Sorrento, a lovely soft cotton/acrylic mix from my store, in a mid blue colourway.

So I was off to a good start until I realised that I had done one of the cables incorrectly and hadn't increased enough stitches along the way.  No matter I thought, the cable snafu doesn't look obvious and I can fix the stitch numbers when I separate the arm stitches.  So far so good.

 A scrunched up look at progress

I duly placed arm stitches on waste yarn to finish later, joined front to back with a tight knit stitch (not tight enough but again, could be fixed later) and continued to follow the pattern.

Then....the inevitable happened....I managed to cock up another cable and now it really WAS obvious...Grrrr.  I toyed with the idea of frogging back but I’d read on the KAL forum in Ravelry that you could actually just frog the affected section, leaving the good stuff untouched.  Apparently Yarn Harlot explained this technique in glorious colour on her blog.

Wow!  I thought, somewhat naively in hindsight.  I can do this!  So, while the grandbaby was in daycare, which was about the only good decision I’d made so far, I proceeded to rip out the cable rows in preparation for the great cable rescue.

Cable unpicked and looking scary

Looks messy doesn’t it?  I wish I could say it got better...but it didn’t.  A few failed attempts and tangled needle cords later, I decided to cut my losses and frog back a few rows instead. 
This I duly did.  I then started to re-do the cable and...wait for it....read the pattern wrongly and did yet another bodgy cable!  Another frog later, a bit further back this time, a double check of the pattern and I was raring to go.

That's it!  I'm starting all over again!

Yep you guessed it!  Yet another error and I was done.  Time to reboot the jumper!  So, I’ve just cast on and have put it in a safe place (safe from me anyway!) until I have the strength to have another go...*sigh*

I love freebies!

Let's face it – we all want to be able to buy all the yarn and patterns that's on offer out there. It's just not possible though is it? OK, so I am in the enviable situation of owning my own yarn shop, so I am surrounded by loads of gorgeous yarns and designs every day! Even so, I had to spend money on it, and I am well aware of how hard it is these days to feed your obsession at the same time as juggling mortgages and bills.

So, what's a girl to do? The answer is – drum roll – search the net for free stuff! Now I don't mean the free things that come at a price (signing up for some bogus offer that just fills your inbox with spam). I'm talking about free knitting and crochet resources that make the crafter's life just that little bit easier.

I admire independent designers for not only their talent (and I wish I'd inherited some design talent from somewhere), but also their drive and passion to produce their designs at their own expense, often with little or no financial reward. This is one reason why I rank knitwear designers as artists, in the same way that painters and sculptors, to name but two, are recognised.

In a future blog I will be presenting interviews with some of my favourite independents, to say thank you to them for their inspiration and talent. But for now, let me show you a few of the patterns that I am working on to show off these wonderful people, but also to show you how you can use the beautiful fibres from YarnSoft to compliment these designs.

Tikki aka Georgie's Blog is a showcase for her amazing childrens' designs. Her motto is "Simple, Seamless Knitting Patterns" and her colourful designs are well known for being easy to make and look awesome on kidlets. I've completed one of her designs, Eden, for my Grandson, Liam. I used Twilleys Freedom Sincere, which is a 100% organic cotton that is machine washable. I must mention though, this was not a free pattern, but I did want to show off some of Georgie's designs (and put up a pic of one of the golden grandchildren!) And please don't ask me why he is on his side...I tried and tried to get Blogger to insert the pic right way up but it wouldn't play nice :-(

 
I'm about to start another Tikki design, this time it's a free pattern, Sid's Beanie. I'm going to use Naturally Loyal, Lt Blue and Blue Print, which is an 8ply 100% wool. I'll post a pic when it's finished. I'll try to get Liam to be my model but he usually whips hats off as soon as they are put on him so I might get his mum Lou to be the camera person!

Other freebies on my list are –
Paula's scarfette. Another Tikki design.  I'm going to use Filatura di Crosa Lovely Jeans, 100% worsted weight cotton

PersnicketyKnitter – ZigZag Lace Scarf. Tahki Rio, a chunky alpaca, merino, silk blend.

Hey Julie – Baby Cabled Hat. Filatura di Crosa Zara Plus, worsted/12ply 100 % extrafine merino wool.

Well, if I'm going to get these things knitted, I'd better get to it!

Until next time, happy creating!

What is in your knitting toolbox?

As you gain more experience with your knitting, you'll find that just needles and yarn aren't enough.  Everyone has their favourite tools and accessories and I am no exception.  Here is a bit of a look inside my knitting toolbox (Actually it's more of a knitting tub, with sub-branches in my desk drawer, current project bag, under the couch, tangled in bedsheets etc!

So, just what is in the box?

Knitting needles – goes without saying!  I do love to try different types of needles and I must say my favourites are circular needles.  I haven’t used straight needles for years and my collection is stashed away in a storage shed.  Having said that, if you are happy with your needle choice then stick with it, until you get the urge to play with something different.  I will add at this point though, that I really don’t like plastic needles.  Don’t know why, I just don’t!

Non twisty circular needles

In my collection I have some old circulars that I bought back in the 80’s I think.  They are the English Milward brand and have stood up to numerous outings over the years.  Like most early versions, these needles have very twisty cords and need to be soaked in warm water every now and then to relax the cord.  Most modern needles have soft cords with less “memory’ so they don’t get twisted up when you use them.  I have a set each of KnitPro and Addi interchangeable as well.  They have proved super handy to have around, as I can change the needle tip and cord length to suit almost every project I want to do. 

Twisty Circular Needles need pre-soaking to soften the cable

If I had to guess the number one reason that some people back away when offered a pair of circular, the twisty cord syndrome would probably be the answer.  The other reason could be that you hold circulars in a slightly different way to straights, causing the weight of the knitted item to be distributed differently.  Personally I find circulars more comfortable to use and don’t get that annoying poke in the chest that can happen with straights.  I can also knit on public transport without attacking my neighbour.  It is also easier to store your project in a smaller bag, as the needles pretty much fold up.

Crochet Hooks – Again, I have a selection of hooks, including some very old lace hooks (I went through a doiley phase some years back and I have kept them for the next dabble), bamboo and hooks with comfort grip handles, which for some reason I find more annoying than comforting, but there you go.

Even if you are a non-crocheter, I would suggest that you keep a couple of hooks in your toolbox.  They are the best thing for picking up dropped stitches that you only notice a couple of rows down.  If I’m faced with the choice of pulling back my knitting to rescue the stitch, or taking a minute or so to bring the errant stitch back home row by row using a small gauge crochet hook, I know which option I’d choose!

Stitch markers – I have a fairly short attention span these days (it must be some strange medical condition, because I am NOT getting old, OK?!)  I’ve recently decided to get back into some lace knitting, nothing complicated, just a simple 12 row pattern for a soft wrap.  It can take me a couple of repeats to get the flow of the pattern and be able to see what goes where, so until then, I slide on stitch markers at various points to help me remember. 

Fibretrends Easy Lace Wrap knit using Heirloom Pixie 4ply

I also love knitting top down garments and use them to divide the different parts of the garment.  And of course, as I prefer circular knitting these days to straights (I think I’m allergic to seaming) I use a marker to tell me where the row starts.  There are plenty of different type of stitch markers available, from simple plastic washers to elaborate hand beaded ones.  If desperate, don’t dismiss the humble safety pin, which is just slid over the needle when needed.

Needle Gauge – These are especially good to use with circular needles.  Some brands don’t have the size printed on the needle tips so it’s essential to check the size.  Some gauges also have a small ruler printed on them so they can be used if you don’t have a tape measure.

Tape measure – Another essential.  Even if a pattern says to knit a number of pattern repeats instead of giving a length, yarns can differ in gauge and drape.  If you don’t measure as you go, you might end up wearing a cropped top instead of the tunic you thought you were making!

Well, that’s just the essentials covered.  I also have sewing needles, long pins, scissors, spare yarn, stitch holders and a bunch of other stuff.  But the items I’ve listed are ones that I just can’t live without.

I wonder what is on your “don’t leave home without it” list of tools?