Finger-knitting good!

 

They say timing is everything and the Craft Club finger knitting session was perfectly timed, just ahead of an invite to teach finger knitting to the SGS 6th formers as part of their general studies experience day.

The plan was to have 15 students per session with 3 sessions and I did wonder if I would have full groups but I needn't have worried. My first session was full, for the second session half the first group asked if they could stay on as well as my second group. By the third session I had students from the first group and the second group both teaching the third group and a full contingent for the third session. Cascade training in action!!!

Longest finger-knit in progress....
 

And after an hour....


 And a lovely scarf, finished off with two cute pompoms (made using a plastic fork!)


It was a great day with lots and lots of knitting made so thanks to all the 6th formers for making it such a fun day and to the teachers for the invite :-)

Steeking!

...or, to the non-knitters out there (esp. those who were expecting another gig review!), cutting your knitting.

I love teaching this workshop as it's a technique that lots of people don't try but that is really awesome when you've got the hang of it. And it really isn't difficult! Practice on a swatch before you dive in, use the right yarn and sharp scissors and you will be amazed at how much it speeds up your knitting, especially colourwork.

So why would you do it? Well, with a bit of planning, a sweater can be reduced to virtually no seams, even when knitted from the bottom up. Sweaters can be knitted in the round from the cast on edge.  Add your bridge stitches for your steek at the armholes and keep knitting in the round, right to the top of the shoulders. Snip open the armholes and pick up and knit the sleeves in the round (so no sleeve seams). With a 3-needle bind off (so no shoulder seaming), there's only the neckline to deal with and the steeks to tidy up. And if you're doing colourwork there are barely any ends to darn in as you're mostly working in the round. Fantastic! You can use steeking for armholes, to convert sweaters into jackets, for thumbs in gloves, handle holes for tea cozies, all sorts!

Here's my class at Purl City Yarns taking the plunge.....

All looking very calm...


Getting those scissors out....


Snippity-snip


And checking the end result - perfect!


And in true Blue Peter tradition, here's one I prepared earlier.....

Swatching for the steeks (the jacket is steeked down the front and armholes, the little vest top has steeked armholes....

And here's the lovely Georgina, kindly modelling the finished jacket and top (thank you to mum, Liz)....

H is for....Hemp

 A catch-up from last week's ABC meme!

I rarely knit for myself so when I do I like it to be something really special. As my birthday is either just before or during Woolfest, it's the perfect opportunity to spend my birthday pennies on something I couldn't buy anywhere else. Last year I was seduced by a gorgeous jacket from the lovely Jane at House of Hemp. I spent ages (well as long as I could get away with!) choosing my colours and my pattern and I went away with my little brown bag of hempy goodness.

Naturally I chose purples and pinks but the pattern also called for a contrasting colour. Black or grey I thought? Couldn't decide so I ended up with both (I'll find a use for the spare skeins I'm sure!). Frustratingly when I started knitting every time I got to the contrasting stripe it just didn't quite work. I tried the stripes every which way, frogging the poor yarn into oblivion but nothing seemed to work. In the end, I knew I had to make a tough decision if this project wasn't to end up in my UFO bag never to be seen again.

As luck would have it, we weren't far from June when I reached this conclusion (I wasn't kidding when I said I tried lots of options!). So, 12 months on and I was back at Jane's stall explaining my predicament. Well, with a bit of judicious swapping and comparing I now have my contrasting stripe. Not so much a contrast as a deep shade of one of the plums in the existing stripes. On balance I don't think the contrast was for me and I'm sure this will work out. What do you think?

This post is brought to you by the ABC meme. Check out more memes here

February sock clubs are on the way....

Sock club parcels were posted this morning, so keep an eye out for your postie : )

I hope everyone liked their two free patterns last month. I have just finished a new pattern and club members will be getting an exclusive copy next month for a mystery KAL, so get those needles at the ready : ))

Knitting frenzy!

I am hopeless when it comes to making knits for people for Christmas, but this year I was absolutely determined and thus far I have (drum roll, please) 3 gifts finished and onto gift 4!!!

I do have a fallback plan in the form of some backup bought gifts if I don't make it to my target, but so far (fingers crossed), it's going ok. Wish me luck : ))

Bolton's Naked Knitters on Youtube!

If you've been following the exploits of the Bolton Knitting Noras and their fabulous Naked Knitting Calendar, you'll love this YouTube clip which show the behinds the scenes process of making the calendar. The girls are raising vital funds for Christie's cancer hospital and you can now pre-order your calendar on their website here so be sure to check it out : )

Tired...

Had a lovely evening at Knit-club last night. We had two newcomers, (Hi Jane and Fiona!), which was lovely. I did get some sock knitting done so I'm nearly at the toe of p/hop sock two.

Today I have a busy day planned, but I'm now realising that an evening out, staying up chatting until 1.30am, then getting up again at 7am, is not as easy as it was. Clearly I am out of practice, which of course, can mean only one thing - I need more practice ; )

Knit-club

Knit-club tonight so a couple of hours of good conversation, a pint or two, and I'm going to try and finish the second p/hop sock (depending how much I knit before the beer kicks in, I'll probably be frogging it tomorrow, but what the hey!). Just realised I haven't even combed my hair yet, so I'd better go and make myself look at least a bit presentable.....

Fiber Baristas!

If you'd told me 4 months ago that I'd now be part of an exciting "global" sock club, I'd have just laughed. But, thanks to the hard work of an enthusiastic bunch of indie dyers, the Fiber Baristas launched on 1 January.

"Postcards from Home" is the theme of our first sock club. Each month members will receive a skein of sock scrumptiousness, hand-dyed by one of the nine Baristas. Colourways will be exclusive to members and will be inspired by the local region of that month's dyer. It's a unique opportunity to sample the talents of nine different dyers, each with their own signature style, and I'm so excited to be part of it!

So, who are my fellow Baristas? Most of you will know them already, but may not yet have sampled their lovely wares. In no particular order we have.....(drum roll!)

Meg of Hoobody Fibers
Catherine of Knitting Notions
Libby from Northwood Dyeworks
Jenny of Bare Sheep Yarns
Ruth from PennyRose Yarns
Lindsay of Woolen Dyeworks (formerly whimzypinzy creations)
Brooke of The Painted Tiger
Roxanne of Zen Yarn Garden
(oh, and me!).

If you are on Ravelry (and if not, do check it out, it's a fantastic free knitting and crochet online "world"), do drop by our Ravelry group and say hi. To find out more about us and to join in the fun, check out the Fiber Baristas blog - enjoy a world of yarn without leaving your armchair!!

New Knit-felt kits

Doh! With so much going on, I haven't told you about the new knit-felt kits which I "unveiled" at Harrogate in November!

I had so much fun designing my Artesano knit-felt collection that I thought I'd produce some for my own yarns. As my little Kool Aid kits have been so popular, I've been thinking for ages that I should do some new ones, but I fancied something a bit different.

There were lots of ideas buzzing round in my head, but I'd been working on socks (surprise, surprise!), and was fed up of rummaging for lost dpns in the bottom of my workbag and down the side of the sofa. I also wanted a neat way to carry my wip to knitting group.

So, put the two together and hey! presto! enter the Flutterby felted sock stasher.

The second kit was really a bit of a selfish one. When I'm at shows I like to knit, but it's tricky to keep putting a project down and it wouldn't be the first time I've had to grovel around on the floor chasing a runaway ball of wool halfway round the stand! I have a friend who's a climber and they use little pouches strapped to their belts to carry stuff they need to have readily to hand so I thought, why not use one for knitting? Better still, why not knit one for my knitting! And so, the Knit 'n' Go knit-sack was born!

To give a nice firm fabric, I knit the basic shapes then throw them in the washing machine with a set of Felter's Friend felting balls. (You can just use flip-flops or old jeans but these are easier and give better results). The knitting looks massive, but once it's been through the washer, it firms up and shrinks nicely and gives a lovely fabric. The tones in the dyed yarn also blend really prettily.

(ps. I've since customised my knit-sack with a little dpn holder which poppers onto the outside of the bag and can be put inside when I pack up, so keep an eye out for this "upgrade").

Back to knitting

Looking back at recent posts, I realise there hasn't been much mention of knitting, dyeing and fibre-y stuff. Do not be misled - this doesn't mean nothing is going on!

I'm busy working on a range of new designs and I'm keeping these under wraps until they're done so as not to spoil the surprise. There is also lots of work going on behind the scenes on new colour collections and I'm trialling some lush new yarns. There's also a fab new project in the offing which goes live very shortly, so watch this space!

Knitty Gritty Goes Large!

Today I'm busy preparing for the Knitty Gritty Goes Large event on Saturday. I'll be doing free hands-on dyeing sessions so anyone who fancies a go at dyeing but hasn't taken the plunge yet is welcome to come along and dye a mini-skein to make a pair of wristlets.

It's a free event, so if you can make it to Rochdale between 11am and 3pm, bring your sticks and string and celebrate National Knitting Week with us!

Stitches International Birmingham

We recently went to the Stitches International trade fair in Birmingham. It was our first visit there and it was a real change to attend a show as a visitor and to be able to mooch round looking at everyone else's exciting goodies for sale! The hard bit was keeping my credit card firmly stashed away in my bag!

Although we didn't see lots of yarn, we did see some interesting organic yarn and it was lovely to meet up with Tom from Artesano. I was very tempted by their new Manos del Uruguay range. Each skein is handspun and signed by the maker - how cool is that? There were some fantastic accessories so I have plans for lots of new projects with wonderfully exotic beads and embellishments. There were some fab handbag clasps, fasteners etc. too so I can feel some interesting bags and the like coming along soon. (This might not seem terribly exciting, but it's the little things like clasps and straps that really set bags apart for me and give them the designer look).

We signed up for a Search Press account so we'll soon be stocking lots of their gorgeous titles. What was a bit embarrassing was looking through the catalogue and realising how many of their books I already own in my crafty "library"! (Didn't tell Pete this so mum's the word).