Archive for December, 2007
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How To’s Day.. on Thursday: Knit Yo-Yo’s
Well I was asked by Kathy Z. how to make yo-yo’s on the knitting loom so here goes.. it’s easy!
For my example I used a blue Knifty Knitter loom and I used a worsted weight wool yarn.
Cast on all stitches and started working in the round. You can do the twisted knit stitch (aka, e-wrap) or the flat stitch if you like. In my example I did 12 rows.
Take the tail at the cast on end and string it through the stitches on the cast on edge and pull it to gather.
It should look something like this:
The next row, purl the entire row. This will be the outer edge of the Yo-Yo
Knit an equal amount of rows as you did before the purl row, in the example, 12 rows.
Bind off using the gather bind off method.
Secure the ends and then poke your yarn end through the center to the other side.
It might look something like this. Go grab your pins!!
Give it a little wash.. pin it out and let it dry! Check it out.. you can turn it into a square…
If your #of stitches is divisible by 4..or an octagon if they are divisible by 8!
Just make a bunch, seam them together along those edges and make a blanket, placemat.. or whatever you can dream up!
Use them alone, they make a great coaster!!! Just be sure to use natural fibers like wool, or cotton because if you put it under a hot cuppa cuppa you don’t want your creation to melt!
Gotta have my eggnog!
Here are some more ideas of how to join those little yo-yos and what to make with them!
Some tips and recommendations:
- I do recommend use of wool or cotton etc.. as you can block these and mold them to the shape you want more easily than an acrylic yarn.
- you will want to play around with the number of rows used to make the yo yo, especially if you are using a different size loom, or different weight yarn. The rule of thumb seems to be that you knit about half of the amount of rows as there are pegs on the loom. That gives a good place to start.
- HAVE FUN! It’s only yarn! You can unravel it, and try again till you get the results you are looking for.
Don’t forget to send me some pictures of your creations!!
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Wordless Wednesday: Tree Hunting
If the slide show blows up on you.. pleas just click View all images.. oops a few words anyway!
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On confidence…
So often we sell ourselves short. We just don’t have confidence in ourselves, or value our own work, and worth. We tend to only see our mistakes and shortcomings.
That was certainly the case tonight for me. It was our annual knitting guild dinner, and this year we had a little competition.
Each member was given a skein of yarn to knit whatever we wanted. We could add up to one skein of an equal amount of yarn, or just do a one skein project. I put this in the competition:
I have to admit when I saw all the items brought out and placed on the table I silently sighed to myself resigned to defeat. There were such nice things. A great wreath, a cute lapghan, a couple of pillows, a wrap, a scarf and a cabled bag. All of them looked so nice. Well I thought, at least there is an honorable mention category! Perhaps I have a chance for that.
The little lapghan got the honorable mention prize. I sighed again. The shoulder wrap got the third prize. Then when the judge reached over and picked up my hat and mitten set and said they won second prize* I let out an audible gasp, and my chin dropped to the table! Wow!!
The cabled bag won first prize. It was really cute.
On the way home I stopped at the grocery store for a few things. As I walked around the store I felt like I had grown two inches!
Heck.. I even honked my horn at a guy that pulled out in front of me on the drive home..
Somebody stop me!
*the prize:Verilux Portable Lamp / Ivory
PS> Jared thanks for the great pattern for the hat! And the inspiration for the mittens!
PPS> Kathy Z! I will get that little tutorial up.. How To’s Day will simply have to move to Thursday this week! Today was just too crazy!!
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Worse than the kids!
So do you have anyone in your family like this..
He finds out where his Christmas present is hidden because you HAVE to get the ice melting salt out of the closet downstairs and you can’t lift it yourself..
Then the game begins..
He is sooo worse than the kids!
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Nearly Finished Friday!
I should be able to finish these up tonight! Which is good, I need to show them off on Tuesday.. and then sell them on Sunday!
I restarted on Brian’s Sweater! It is slow going I need to get through one repeat of the cables and then I will have a solid picture of what I am doing so it will get easier!
And with this weather he will need it soon!
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Bookish Thursday:The Knitters Book of Yarn
The original plan was to get a copy of The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn
by Clara Parkes at Rhinebeck and get her to sign it. Unfortunately, or fortunately I found that a copy was being sent to me just before I left.
So I waited, and had Clara sign the back of my Blogger Bingo card so I could paste it into the book instead..
It was worth the wait! This book is stunning and informative!
I have read exactly three books this year. THREE! What can I say? I am a busy homeschooling, professional knitting Mom.. read? What’s that? So it takes a pretty special book for me to make it all the way through. This book fit the bill.
I couldn’t put it down. Clara weaves a tale of yarn that entrances! The subject of the history and making of yarn could be mundane and ordinary, even to knitters. Not so in this case. Clara’s writing style makes this a very readable, interesting volume that draws you in. With gems like this: “Wool in yarn is like restaurants in San Francisco. You could knit a different blend every day for a year without using the same yarn twice.” Or this: “Hygroscopic means that the fiber is able to absorb up to 30% of it’s weight in moisture while still feeling warm and dry….” How smart do I feel throwing around my new favourite word hygroscopic, and talking about the fibers I am working with in detailed way.. Thanks Clara!
The publisher says it best in their summary of the book:“The Knitter’s Book of Yarn will teach you everything you need to know about yarn: How it’s made, who makes it, how it gets to you, and what it longs to become. The next time you pick up a skein, you won’t have to wonder what to do with it. You’ll just know–the way any yarn whisperer would.”
And yes.. there are the patterns! The patterns are written not to a specific yarn or brand, but to the type of yarn and fiber. They are a tutorial in and of themselves of what yarn and fiber will work with what garment. I found my mind wandering to my stash and thinking about what yarns I had, and with what design they would work best. I started pairing up in my mind what designs I had purculating up there in my brain with what I had available to work with.
For my loom knitting friends, the patterns are definitely doable. Anyone with a nice adjustable loom, and some motivation could translate these patterns into the loom knitting medium.
This book is a must have for knitters, designers and those aspiring to design. It is a valuable volume to turn to when deciding what yarn to use for a project or design. Clara has created the ultimate yarn switching guide!
If this book isn’t on your shelf I reccomend you run with permanent marker in hand and add it to your Christmas list!
Paying the bills…
Coming April 13th
