Knitted Yarns

New York City knitters lined up outside the Lion Brand Studio to hear Shirley Paden introduce her new book, Knitwear Design Workshop. It’s a wonderful compendium that walks would be designers and knitters who want to learn about the design process to help them knit better fitting garments through her knitwear design process. Shirley Paden who made a career shift to being a knitwear designer gives readers insights into the craft.

Shirley Paden  wore an airy white lace mohair shawl based on traditional Shetland patterns over a basic black dress as she gave a visual tour of her garments through the years. What struck me was how generous she was to her students whose work now peppers the pages of Vogue Knitting and Interweave.

Many of the knitters who helped her with this project were on hand and received warm applause to thank them for their work.

A few of the pieces in the book were on view and definitely not for the new knitter.

While the book comes with a higher than average price tag, I’m sure that you’ll agree that this book is well worth adding to your knitting book collection.

Happy knitting, Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Knitwear Design Workshop, Lion Brand Studio, Shirley Paden

While I promised myself that I wouldn’t allow knitting UFOs to accumulate this year, the fact that my 40″ Hiya Hiya circular needles broke was a great excuse for starting a new project. I have wanted to make a lace shawl from the Madeline Tosh Lace Superwash Merino that I bought from Webs at Stitches East last November. The oxblood colored merino is a  mix of black and purple that that any New Yorker could love.

After going through various searches on Ravelry for knitted lace doilies, I decided to make the Mommes Lysedug. Several knitters made this antique lace knit doily into blankets.

The free pattern translated from Danish contains 110 rows of verbal instructions although no charts. Based on the completed projects on Ravelry, I am guessing with my fingers crossed that the 950 yards of Madeline Tosh lace merino is sufficient to complete this wonderful doily.

I test knitted a small swatch to determine the optimal size needles. My goal was to ensure that the lace would stand out while allowing the piece to be as big as possible. I finally decided to use size 5 needles despite the fact that my size 5 double pointed needles were metal making them very slippery.

My one concern was that Ravelers noted that the Madeline Tosh superwash lace weight merino springs back to its original shape. Since I’ve knit lots of shawls and scarves from superwash sock yarn, I have learned that wet blocking helps get the piece to show off the beauty of the lace. If the lace is only big enough to act like a lace collar that is fine with me.

The Mommes Lysedug pattern is unusual in that it starts with 5 stitches which is a very small amount. After over an hour of playing with 5 stitches and 4 needles, I decided to start with 10 stitches since the pattern doubles the number of stitches in the second row. This worked like a charm for starting the pattern.

Wish me luck!

Editor-in-Chief of Knitted Yarns

Tags: Doily, Free Knitting Pattern, Lace weight, Madeline Tosh, Merino, Mommes Lysedug

As readers of this blog know, I love knitting with circular knitting needles because the are easy to pack in your bag, keep the stitches in place, and don’t poke the person sitting next to you on the subway (where I do a lot of knitting). Unfortunately, if the circular needles break mid-project, you can have a big problem. This is the main reason that I stopped knitting with my set of interchangeable Densies; they kept coming apart midstream.

I have been working on the Delia Revontuli Shawl on my 40″ Hiya Hiyas. I bought them to make the mobius back in November. I selected the Hiya Hiyas since they didn’t contain nickel (to which I am allergic), they had good points, and they were about half the price of the Addis.

When I take my project out of its bag, I realize that the metal needle is no longer attached to the plastic cord. There is about 2 inches of shawl where there are live stitches floating in the air unmounted from the needle. The only bright point to this situation is the fact that I am using Kauni which is a rough yarn that sticks to itself. While this makes it difficult to unravel, it is keeping my shawl in place. I am very disappointed because I liked the Hiya Hiya needles and I have only made three projects with these needles.

I am going to contact Hiya Hiya and see whether they will make good and replace these needles.

PS- I called Hiya Hiya and they said to send the needles back and they would replace them if they broke due to their fault. Of course, it will cost me to send them back and the broken needles have allowed me to move onto other projects.

Happy knitting! Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Circular needles, Hiya Hiya Needles, Kauni, Knitting needles, Revontuli Shawl

How can you go wrong with a combination of Knitting & Hot Chocolate? If you’re a knitting chocoholic, you don’t have to even ask. So when I heard about the City Bakery Night of Knitting and Hot Chocolate on Thursday, February 18th, I signed up right away.

In typical New York style, knitters were out in force lined up down West 18th Street waiting for the doors to open. There were six different kinds of hot chocolate promised in addition to a variety of bite size chocolate inspired desserts so that you could taste them all without feeling guilty. (Of course, dinner was served and included a number of comfort foods such as fried chicken and mac and cheese. For me, these options paled compared to the desserts.)

Not to be out done, a number of New York Yarn Stores offered mini-classes inspired by hot chocolate from marshmellow hats to cupholders. Participants could bring their own supplies or buy a small kit.

Since no party is complete without favors and this festivity was no exception. There were Knitty City totes filled with knitting goodies and chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

Happy knitting, Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Knitting, Knitty City, LYS, Purl Soho

I couldn’t resist sharing a few edible valentine’s treats to celebrate the occasion. While it may not be as satisfying as eating them, it’s a LOT less calories!

Photographs (c) 2010 Knitted Yarns – all rights reserved

Having watched the 2006  Winter Knitting Olympics run by the Yarn Harlot and the 2008 Summer Ravelympics run by Ravelry, I considered joining this year’s Ravelympics. I really wanted to be part of a larger knitting community activity.

Of late, I have been making (and finishing) smaller projects that can be completed in a couple of weeks such as smaller shawls and gaunlets. I thought that a small shawl like Bitterroot might make a good choice, especially since the pale teal Swan Island sock yarn that I bought last summer at Halcyon would be a perfect match.

When I mentioned this to Mr. Husband, he objected which is unusual for him, especially when it comes to my knitting. His reasoning was that my knitting was an area of my life that was supposed to be stress free and participating in a time bound challenge, unlike a complex shawl or sweater pattern, would add stress where there shouldn’t be any.

Since I am about one third of the way through my Frost Diamonds shawl based on my yarn usage and had to start my Ruched Neck Warmer earlier this week, I decided that he had a valid point. Therefore, I hope to finish these two small projects before the end of the Olympics. It’s my own non-competitive version of the Ravelympics. While it lacks some of the fanfare, it hopefully makes up for it with less stress.

Watching the opening Olympics ceremony, I felt a bit wistful but, as I slowly added rows to my Magenta Frost Diamonds, I knew that it was the best thing for my peace of mind.

I wish all of you who are participating the best of luck as I watch from the knitting sidelines as the games begin. Please leave me links in the comments if you want me to follow your progress.

Submitted by Knitted-Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Frost Diamond Shawl, Knitting Olympics, Ravelry, Ravelympics, Yarn Harlot

Neck Warmer Scarf in Progress

Spring is coming to a shop window near you and it’s colored pink and grey this season. Note to self, knit something in pink or grey to lull me into believing that spring is here despite the  winter weather that keeps hovering over the New York City area.

To this end, I bought some Malabrigo lace weight baby merino at Annie & Company on the upper east side in a lilac linen. It’s a pale purplish pink and will make a wonderful wisp of a scarf while keeping my neck warm.

Inspired by the Knitty Citron scarf that I made my mother out of Spirit Trails Lace Weight Merino, I am going to make a short oblong scarf by knitting sideways. To this end, I made a small swatch to determine the needle size and a guess estimate of stitches.  Once I’m finished, I’ll write up the instructions so that you can give it a whirl yourselves.

I love the feel of the yarn it’s soooo soft and relatively easy to see for a laceweight. The unpplied strands can vary in thickness. The ruching gives a see through quality to part of the scarf.  Since it’s essentially a stocking knit stitch, it’s a great small carry around project.

Happy knitting, Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Annie & Co, Lace weight, Malabrigo, Merino, NYC Yarn Store, Ruched Neck Warmer

Frosted Diamond Lace Detail

Stephanie Japel’s Frost Diamonds Shawl was one of the Winter 2009 Knitty pattern that I wanted to make. The Frost Diamonds shawl pattern is intriguing since Stephanie Japel applied her skill at making fitted clothes to a triangular shawl which is generally held in place with a knot or a pin.

To get similar dimensions and better understand the concept, I bought 3 skeins of Cascade Quarto in magenta and purples at Knitty City’s Birthday Sale because I needed worsted weight yarn which I didn’t have in my stash. While I had hoped that the colors of Cascade’s Quartro would create a more lively pattern, I am impressed with the quality of the yarn. This was my first purchase of Cascade.

Here’s three reasons I love Stephanie Japel’s Frost Diamonds Shawl pattern:

1. Pattern is well written and charted. This is an important factor for any lace project.
2. Pattern builds from four distinct sections and each one grows organically.  For a lace pattern, it has a lot of stockingknit stitch which can be good for beginning knitters.
3. Pattern’s lines flow very nicely aided by the worsted weight wool. In other words, the lace portions and the section dividing stitches create strong continuous lines that are difficult to discern at first.

To help you with your Frost Diamonds Shawl, I recommend that you use colored stitch markers effectively. Place the same color markers for each section and a different color for the three spines that separate the sections. Here’s what I mean:

• A= Spine color
• B= Section 1 and 3
• C=Section 2 and 4
• Place markers as follows:  A B A C A B A C A (Note: Extra repeats within each section are added with each repeat of chart B. This means additional stitch markers.)

Good luck and happy knitting!

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Cascade, Frosted Diamonds, Knitty, Knitty City, Quarto, Shawl, Stephanie Japel

My husband has been longing for another pair of hand knitted socks ever since I made him a pair, affectionately known as the Verona Socks since I started knitting them on the train from Venice to Verona on a trip that we took in 2006. Since I must be one of very few knitters on the planet who doesn’t like knitting socks, it took me a year  to finish them.

When one of my UWS Knitting friends showed off her Hiya Hiya 9″ needles which meant that I could knit a sock without loosing track of four doublepoints, I decided to try again. I bought a pair of size 0 needles at Knitty City to go with the gorgeous blue, green and purple Art Yarn sock yarn last August. Then I waited for inspiration. As I noted earlier, socks are not among my favorite knitting projects.

Since I have been working on a lot of smaller projects, I decided that the time had come to start a pair of socks for Mr. Husband in hopes of having a birthday present for him before his birthday (which is the end of March).The pattern for socks made with the 9″  Hiya Hiya needles calls for more yarn than the two skeins of Art Yarns, which run a scant 191 yards each. So I dug into my stash where I had a skein of orange, light blue, brown and white sock yarn that Mr. Husband picked out in July 2008 on one of our Webs stops. Within less than 10 rows, I found that my hands cramped using these small needles.

Instead of abandoning the project, I changed to my yellow size 0 Pony double points which are flexible but not slippery. I also changed patterns since I wasn’t using the Hiya Hiya needles. Instead, I’m using the Yarn Harlot’s Sock Recipe which allows flexibility. I’ve measured my husband’s calf and swatched to ensure that this sock actually fits when I’m finished.

I had put off using this yarn since I didn’t like it (Note to self-Don’t buy yarn that you don’t absolutely love!) but I have found that I really enjoy watching the pattern evolve as I knit. I am using the Yarn Harlot’s Sock Recipe with just plain stocking knit to let the pattern grow. Despite 4 tiny needles, I am able to knit it on the subway. The pattern attracts attention. With luck, it may be a sock before Mr. Husband’s birthday.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Hiya Hiya Needles, Pony Knitting Needles, Socks, Webs, Yarn Harlot

Lion's Brand Organic Merino Nereid Gauntlet

I wanted to make a pair of fingerless gloves/gauntlets this winter. To this end, I bought one skein of magenta organic merino at the Lion Brand Studio. It’s a limited edition yarn targeted at fancy yarn snobs with limited budgets. The $8.00 a ball yarn contains 300 yarns and can be used for a wide variety of projects. While I’m concerned about how the yarn will wear as a pair of fingerless gloves, the project is relatively inexpensive for quick-to-make, one season accessory.

After perusing Ravelery, I discovered that there were many, many  options for knitting a pair of fingerless gloves. I  prefer to call them gauntlets because it congers the image of a romantic medieval knight kissing my hand.

I quickly fell for the Nereid Fingerless Gloves which are based on Cookie A’s Pomatomus Sock pattern from Knitty. I liked the lacy fish scale lace pattern.

While the organic merino’s label calls for a size 6 needle, after several swatches, I found that I needed to use size 1 doublepoints to get the pattern to work. In addition, after several rows of knitting, I needed to restart the project by eliminating one pattern repeat or the gloves would have been way too big.

Here are my modifications:

1. Small size less one pattern repeat (12 stitches)
2. One less set of rows to make the gauntlets slightly beyond wrist length. They fit under a jacket without any gaps.
3. Reduced the thumb stitches by 2 to keep the thumb tight enough.

I love the gauntlets. If I were to make them again, I would make the portion above the thumb shorter since it gets in my way when I work. I made these fingerless gloves specifically to knit on the subway.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Tags: Fingerless gloves, Free Pattern, Gauntlets, Lions Brand, Nereid, Organic Merino