Minimalist Couture

I've always wanted to teach a knitting class that combines gauge and fiber information with fit and fashion.  The class that connects the dots.  It's a class that will take more than a few weeks.  Like anything done right, it's not instant gratification.

Minimalist Couture begins this Saturday at Wool & Co. in St. Charles.

This is my dream class.  It breaks all the rules.  

“Haute couture” actually means high-fashion clothing that’s made-to-measure by hand, start to finish.

Sounds like hand-knitting to me.

I call this class Minimalist Couture because students will learn what's necessary to knit the sweater they love to wear.  It will fit.  The fabric will drape properly.  The finishing touches will be ooh la la.

We’re going to talk a lot and test-drive yarn and stitches a lot and then go shopping for yarn+pattern.  We’ll talk some more at that point about whether the design and stitch pattern marries well with a particular yarn.  We’ll test-drive some more. We'll begin with top-down designs because top-down knitting is perfect for trying the garment on and adjusting as you progress.  Like they do in the Paris ateliers. 

This Saturday students will bring a sweater or jacket or blazer that fits.  You know the one -- you wear it because it makes you feel good because you know you look good.  We’ll figure out why it’s such perfection.  Then we’ll measure all of us.  We’ll compare the measurements to the garments that fit us and talk about something called “ease.”
And off we go...

Breaking the rules.  It’s so much more fun that way.


LK









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Shimmy, Take 2

Finished blocking Reverse Psychology overnight: 

The color is really quite blue, but I haven't quite got the hang apparently of the new iPhoto thing.

BTW, you can click on any photo to magnify.

Yarn:  Tahiti in color 7617 Bermuda.
Beads:  Aqua TSL 6/0 from stash.  Designer Mindy Ross used a different color aqua bead in her Fringe with Benefits in this Tahiti colorway, which looks quite effective.

Here is RP modeled by Artemis:

I'm quite taken with the little curl on the end:

Hey, this photo color looks about right.  Wonder what I did?

And a couple of close-ups of one reversible bit:

Reverse:

Finally, Artemis also modeled Fringe with Benefits:

 I really nailed the colors in this photo. 

That's it for today.

Tomorrow I have a bit of a surprise for some of you out there -- something that thrills me no end.

All best,
LK

Shimmy

Ever buy a pattern off of Ravelry, read it as bedtime reading (yes, you do that) and fall in love with the writing?  No?  OK, maybe that's just me.  But I ran across Fringe with Benefits and this description right at the cast on: "shimmy bead" up to the stitch on the needle.

I've pre-strung beads (there's only a handful pre-strung in this pattern; the remaining are hooked on, phew) lots of times but never following a pattern that describes the process so well.  That darn bead does actually shimmy up the yarn.  (And if you're not careful, will shimmy right back down again, but we're all careful, right?)

After reading "shimmy bead," it was destined that I'd make Fringe with Benefits.  By happenstance (or my trip to Churchmouse Yarns last month), I had three skeins of SMC Tahiti in a new color, Wildfire:

It was a bright and beautiful day during our visit to Bainbridge Island and Churchmouse.  Or maybe I would have picked the brightest color anyway.  Hard to tell. My sister-in-law was along for the trip and I could swear she shaded her eyes during my purchase, but again, maybe I was imagining that.

For those of you who have nothing better to do than track all of my projects, you'll remember that I made this out of Tahiti that I nabbed last year in a color called Marble, a.k.a. black-to-white gradient

in what appears to have been a conservative streak, color-wise.

This particular Fringe with Benefits is destined as a gift.  I've photo'd it as best I can, though I think I'd have to be at least a foot taller to get the entire thing in one frame (I was standing on a stool as it was).  Here it is showing all but the really cool beaded edge:

Really cool beaded edge:

Close-up of beginning edge, including the shimmied beads:

I had such a good time making this design that I went back to Mindy Ross's designer page and picked out Reverse Psychology, which is now finished out of more Tahiti in a color called Bermuda (two island countries in one yarn name; can you beat it?).  When Reverse Psychology is blocked, I'll add some photos.  But Fringe with Benefits is hogging the blocking table at the moment. 

I've now begun a second Fringe with Benefits out of some Apple Tree fingering silk gradient (there happened to be a shawl-size skein in the Ready to Ship section that apparently had my name on it).  But I'm going to make this Fringe also reversible with some of the stitch patterns Mindy Ross used in Reverse.  Got that?  Concatenation of patterns.  Shimmy.  Today's knitting words.

LK

On Amazon

OK, everyone, my digital novel is on Amazon:  Everything Is Fine Until It Isn't
Easy to find, great read, check it out.  You can read it on Kindle or get the Kindle app for free and read it on your iPad, iPhone, etc.

What I need from you is to read and then post reviews on Amazon.
Thanks.  You all are wonderful.

LK

I made this

The creative process is a peculiar thing:  sometimes the lights are all on and sometimes they dim.  The more technique you know, the brighter the creative lights.  But technique isn't everything.  It's just experience.  You're probably muttering about now:  just experience?  Hard-won experience, but once it's yours, it's yours.

The last time I posted I'd made this book:

Yesterday I finished this sweater:

Artemis is modeling Murasaki Akai from the book Knit Kimono Too.  It fits her pretty well.  It fits me perfectly.  And every time I wander through my studio and see the sweater on Artemis, I think, "I made this."  Sure, experience led me to get the gauge just right.  To change the order of putting together the back so I could try the the back + fronts on for fit before picking up from the armholes for sleeves. 

To alter the sleeve stitch-decrease to row ratio so the sleeves fit me.

To add a three-needle-bind-off up the side seams and underarms so that the vertical vs. horizontal motif continues throughout the sweater.  And to figure out how to pick up and knit for that three-needle mod so that the seams hang just right.

To weave in the ends while knitting so I didn't have a zillion ends to weave in during finishing.

Experience also dictated that I work the first version of this in the yarn the designer used, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece as a test-drive of the design.   Because somehow I knew I was going to make this more than once.  I have a plan for Murasaki Akai version 2, but it will have to wait for wool-knitting weather.  Suffice it to say it will be two colors of sport weight solid and one self-striping.


Writing and knitting shine the creative light on each other for me.  And occasionally there's an "I made this!" moment. 

Had to share.

LK

The latest and greatest ...

It's a book:

Just published on iBooks: Everything Is Fine Until It Isn't, by, yes, LK.

So go read!

LK

Happy Holidays

It's a new shawl wall.
And you thought shawls were only for wearing!

Happy Holidays from LK.

Plan B

Robert B. Parker, author of the Spenser and Jesse Stone detective novels, writes somewhere that you should always have a Plan B.

Plan B:

Dotted Rays by Stephen West.

Plan A:  Pueblo Stole.  This is as far as I got before it dawned on me two years later that it was destined to remain a UFO:

That's all I could knit, maybe a third of the stole.
But here's the thing:  it is the most beautiful yarn.  If you haven't tried Carol Sunday's yarn, you must. I couldn't let it sit there in stash for another year.  Plan B took a week to knit.  And I have all of this yarn left:

There will be a Plan B version 2. Could be another year.  But the pressure is off.  Good yarn put to good use, you know?

L&K

The Right Tool for the Right Job

One of DH's favorite lines from Zap Comix is "Mr. Natural says, 'The right tool for the right job.'"

While blocking Glacier Sweep yesterday, I thought, the right tool: too true.  Glacier Sweep is a REALLY big half-circle shawl with an i-cord edge (more on i-cord edges in the next post).  The only way to block it was with the right blocking wires.  So on Sunday I invested in these:

Janet had them in the store, though it took Lynette to find them for me.  On the front counter.  From my point of view behind the counter and computer screen, completely invisible.  Anyway, worth every penny.

I own a set of straight blocking wires bought sometime in the 1990's.  But if you want to block a curved edge, you need these wires.  They worked perfectly.  I threaded the longest wires through the curved i-cord, then pulled the wired edge and pinned it so the stockinette stitch contrasted strongly against the garter stitch curved stripes.

This is a vast set of blocking wires.  Really long ones and really short ones both.  Will work for straight edges, too, like the top of the shawl.  Have a feeling that my old blocking wires aren't going to be used quite as much...

The right tool for the right job.  Worth the investment.  And it's not like tools wear out.

Get some blocking mats.  Mine are from Knit Picks but you can get the same thing for less in weird colors at Home Depot or other hardware stores:

I didn't want weird-colored mats but only because I tend to photograph projects while blocking (see Oct. 7, 2013 blog post, "Blocking the Wedding Shawl").

In any case, I cover my studio table with the mats to the size I want.  Pins stick in the mats.  The mats have a raised grid that holds the shawl, etc., in place enough to wire and pin it without chasing it around the table.  Yes, your bed will work, too, as a blocking surface.  Me, I prefer to sleep in the bed and allow a shawl to dry overnight. 

These are the needles I use for joining yarn, burying yarn ends and the occasional fiber repair job:

This particular set I found in String Theory's notions drawer; they're made by Lacis and are called something like ribbon needles. 

Each needle has a long eye and a sharp point.  Different from tapestry needles, which have curved and blunt points.  Those of you who do needlepoint know these sharp needles by another name.  Also, sometimes they're called darning needles.  To do really blind finishing, especially on multicolor or lace or anything with a pattern to it, you need sharp needles to hide yarn ends.  Not to mention to conduct a Russian join easily.

What other tools do you absolutely need?
1.  Row counters that live on your knitting needle:

Use the top one in the photo for knitting flat/ back & forth.
Hang the bottom one from your needle when working after joining in the round.  That way it functions as an end-of-round marker as well.

2. Invest in some good stitch markers.  My preference is metal ones, since they slide across the needles without grabbing.  Again, yes, you can use bits of yarn for stitch markers.  But the small investment makes your knitting time so much easier and more enjoyable.

(Optional, though not in our house.) Cat, to oversee everything you do:

LK

Taking charge of self-striping yarn

If you've met me or watched me knit for any length of time, you know how much I love self-striping yarn, especially gradient yarn.  There's a difference:  gradient flows smoothly from one color to the next, sometimes along the value scale.  Self-striping?  Think sock yarn.  Both are great fun.

But you want a particular color or value to hit at the right spot in your garment, right?    E.g., in a shawl, to create a picture using color.

Here's my latest gradient project:

Pattern:  Cladonia using solid black noil silk fingering alternating with SMC Tahiti.  Both are light fingering weight yarns -- meaning alternating yarns in the shawl body will show both yarn colors equally.

But back to taking charge of color.  I wanted the lightest gray at the neck, so started with that.  Then I wanted a wide white stripe just before the lace edging, which happened to come off the skein and land in the right place.  But I didn't want any more white in the edging.  That required cutting the gradient at the right color and splicing the same color when it began to occur again in the skein.  This is why you buy more gradient yarn than the pattern actually needs, so you can pick and choose.

For all of you who are wincing at the thought of cutting and splicing in lace:

Yes, just a Russian join (right below the green pencil point).  Click on photo to enlarge.

Same in the picot edge:

Border join after burying ends, shown just to the left of needle point:

Picot after burying ends.  Can you tell which of the three picots in the photo has the join?

Sometimes I enjoy the sheer randomness of color in self-striping or gradient yarns.  Just let the colors end up where they want to.  And then there're the times when I have a picture in mind of what I'd want a project to look like.  

For the record, I love this shawl.  Wearing it tonight.

LK

P.S. more in the next few days on choosing the right tools for the right job.  As in, just what is that long-eye sharp needle in the second-to-last photo and why do I have a small collection of them?

Reversible

Time out from multicolor knitting for a bit of texture:

Suke-Suke Cowl by Olgajazzy (Ravelry pattern).  This designer invents stitch patterns you don't see elsewhere.  Suke-Suke has pleats and dropped stitches. 
Here's what it looks like before the drops:

And it's reversible.  Other side, after drops:

Artemis modeling:

The vivid green color looks accurate in the photos.  It's called Granny Smith Apple, in Feederbrook Common Ground.  
Come cold weather, Emily will wear this cowl. 

Now MA insists I finish my novel so she can find out what happens.  When someone else starts referring to fictional characters you've invented as real people, well, it's time to go to work. 

LK

In which Artemis models in the garden

It's a beautiful afternoon here in LK land.  After various chores, some involving actual physical effort, Artemis joined us outside for her first modeling gig in the garden:

Our garden is a little strange because it's designed for the bees.  One of which tried to chase me away as I photographed.  She and I had a little chat along the lines of "I'll be out of your way as fast as I can" from me while she buzzed around my hair.  Apparently there was some communication because she retired to that useful stand of bee balm on the left in the photo and got back to her own work, leaving me to mine.

Anyway, here's what I really wanted to show you on Artemis:

 This is a pattern called Spokes.  I saw it on Ravelry and immediately went stash-diving to see what I could experiment with. As you may have gathered, I'm addicted to modular knitting and to combining yarns and colors.
           You start at the neck, which allows you to see if your yarn combo is working:

I could tell immediately that yarns and pattern were getting along famously.  When I got to the odd short-row design in the center back I thought, what the hey and went along with it.  My policy is always to let designers have their way if the idea potentially makes sense.  Well, this one worked big time.  Spokes hangs perfectly.  It's the shawl I've been looking for almost as long as I'd searched for Artemis.  OK, maybe not that long.  But this one keeps your shoulders and neck warm.  That short-row action in the center back does the trick.  Brilliant.

I used Madelinetosh Merino Light in a gray-green called Celadon for the garter spokes and some Noro Silk Garden Sock for the gradient.

Then yesterday while working my Friday afternoon shift at ST I ran across a new Madelinetosh Merino Light color called Optic and fell in love.  I've combined it with an ancient skein of Misti Alpaca Sock in a color I don't think is made anymore:

Click on the photo to get the whole positive/negative effect.
This, folks, is why we keep stash.  You run across some yarn that's really gorgeous.  Then at some point two yarns or a yarn+pattern will suddenly work and you can't stop knitting.  Started this second Spokes last night. 

More photographs to come in the next few days.  Artemis and I (and the bees) have been busy.

LK

MA's Gyre

MA just finished her version of Gyre.  It's the same yarn and size as mine, but she completed the whole pattern length.  Here it is modeled by her granddaughter:

This is Gyre, exactly as written. Gorgeous.  Now compare length to mine in same yarn:

Wow.  What a difference.
Love them both.
Thanks MA for letting me photograph your trophy.

LK

Artemis

Meet Artemis:

Artemis and I have been searching for each other for, oh, let's say 15 years.  When I brought her home from the lovely store in Geneva where I found her, my husband said, wow, you've been wanting one of those forever. 

I immediately put Artemis to work in my studio, which she seems to enjoy:

Here's she's modeling the back of the entrelac cardigan I've been inventing out of Noro Taiyo sock yarn.  If you look very very closely at the right side you can see the arm scythe.  In which there will be a sleeve.  Eventually.  Artemis doesn't have arms but we'll work something out, I'm sure.

One of you faithful readers pointed out yesterday that I'd stalled out months ago here on Gyre and that I had some catching up to do. 

OK.  I'm on it.  As you can see.

LK

OK, I got wild and crazy and ...

started another Gyre in skinny Shibui Cima.  Cima is kind of a heavy lace weight, if that makes sense.  Last thing I made out of it was Cladonia #2 on a U.S. 7 needle and it's one of my favorite shawls ever.  So I grabbed some out of stash in color UV and cast on.

I test blocked it still on the needle and look:

That's the needle at the bottom -- Gyre is worked top-down.  So the part at the very top is the neckline.  I used a #5 needle for the first 15 or so rows before sizing up to a #6 needle.  After all, I'd made that shawl on a #7 needle successfully.  When the pattern says to size up to the larger needle, I'll go to the #7.  And will make a larger size than medium, though I don't know how much larger yet.  Gotta get there first (all Gyre sizes start out with exactly the same number of stitches and increases).

This is what the neckline bit of Gyre looks like in the prescribed yarn weight:

Lacey but not as lacey as Cima.  Cima version's eyelets and ribbing up close:

The downside of this will be that I'll be knitting lots of extra rows to get the length, though not zillions more.  I have three skeins in stash and another three on hold at the store, though five will probably be enough.  I've been wearing both Maya and Sol Degrade versions of the sweater and think a floaty version would be fun to wear as well.  I love floaty garments.  Maybe because I wore a lot of power suits in my previous career.  Remind me to tell you sometime, though, about how different the businesspeople I interviewed reacted to Lisa in a power suit vs. Lisa dressed in a sweater and skirt -- different better for the sweater outfit.  Clothing is theater, you know?

I must be easily entertained or something because I'm having a great time playing with this pattern and yarn combination.

Class starts tomorrow, Weds. 5/7,  at 7pm at String Theory if you want to join us at yarn play.
And yes, that's a double entendre.

LK

Just what I've always wanted: a shawl with sleeves.

How many times has a shawl fallen off my shoulders and landed in the dust?  This happened literally last Thursday when I got out of the car to open the gate at MB's farm in South Carolina.  It was dry and warm there.  While MB and I are hugging in greeting, her husband looked over the gate at a pile of blue.  "What's that?"  Didn't even occur to me it was my silk and cashmere shawl.  Not to worry, it survived just fine.  But really, wouldn't it be wonderful to have a shawl with sleeves?

Meet Gyre.  This is another of those patterns that you can't tell from the pattern pictures what it's really going to look like.  Never fear, I've made it twice now -- yup, shawl with sleeves. This is just so much fun to wear.

First I made it in Maya, a DK which is exactly the gauge called for.  We had some black at the store, so black it is, made short for short me:

Janet stood still for me long enough to shoot a picture.  Here's the back:

This is a wonderfully comfortable cardigan. But can you tell from these photos how shawl-like Gyre is?

To quote Monty Python, "wait for it..."

Meet my second Gyre, modeled by Susan, knitted in Lang Sol de Grade:

Wear it straight:

Wear it draped:

Or both!

I'm thinking of making it in fingering weight next.  You know, like a shawl.  Maybe bead the eyelets:

And yes, those are dropped stitches.  You all know how I love to drop stitches on purpose. 

After trying on Gyre, would it surprise you that people want a class for Gyre?  There are a few tricky bits to this sweater, including making sure those dropped stitches don't get carried away.  Fit, though, is no big deal.  Because it's a -- repeat after me -- shawl with sleeves.

Class begins on Wednesday May 7 at 7pm, then meets Wednesdays May 14, June 11 and June 25.  Call the store if you want to sign up; there are a few slots open.
Materials:  Pattern in Spring 2014 Interweave Knits (you can buy a digital download at
                    www.interweavestore.com)
                  1000-1300 yards DK or light worsted weight, such as Maya or Rowan Softknit Cotton,      
                  with sizes 7 circ and 8 long circ needles
                  or
                  at least 1000 yards of Aran weight, such as Sol de Grade, with sizes 8 and 9 circs
                  or
                  get wild and crazy and make it in fingering weight.  Like a shawl.


See ya.
LK