So, after a second trip to the LYS, here’s what the yarn collection looks like. The Rowan “kid classic” is in the middle, flanked by all the Berroco “Ultra Alpaca” and some Nashua “Kid Mohair” on the bottom and the left. (The printed color swatches of the Cascade 220 used in the original design are [...]

Introducing my friend TrishC, who has graciously agreed to “guest blog” here on TessKnits. Trish is an amazing knitter and designer, whose knitting adventurousness I greatly admire. Her FO’s are often a beautiful riot of colors, yarns and textures, guaranteed to turn heads and inspire knitters. Take it away, Trish!
TH

To me, there’s nothing more interesting [...]

OK, I found my next exciting project. #29 from the recent VK Hol 2007. This sweater is so freakin’ sassy, I can’t believe it. Faux fur & satin pockets!
Actually, I like almost every sweater in this layout, which is a refreshing change – in the past couple of years I’ve spent more time going [...]

Of course, this means I’m in at Ravelry.
Actually, I got invited about a week ago, but haven’t had time to go exploring before now. What fun! Lots to do!
Unfortunately for me, someone already has the username “tessknits” – so on Ravelry I’m now known as “tessm”. Maybe we should start a group on Ravelry for [...]

One of the biggest problems with knitted ribbing is the relative lack of stretch in the cast-on or bound-off edges.
 Ribbing is almost always at the edges of a garment, and we usually want it to stretch as much as possible. If the cast-on or bound-off edge is really tight, it can even break when the [...]

Last Friday, I made another attempt at a pair of felted slippers for myself. (For those of you keeping score, DH has a pair already that he wears & loves – made in 2004.) 
The original concept behind this project is that I have a fabulous but very elderly pair of slippers that I’d like to [...]

Not to be immodest, but it’s happened a few times:  people look at something I’ve knitted and sigh, "I wish I could knit like you!"
Most of the time, my answer is, "Practice for 20 years."
But a few months ago, a knitter came to me and said she wanted "playing lessons".  I didn’t know what that meant; she [...]

OK, OK, I simply could not resist posting this vintage gem – even though this is CROCHET, not knitting (and I think knitters all over the globe can all be thankful for that). I truly believe this picture deserves a better fate than being stuck in an old book, forever hidden from prying eyes. The [...]

This past summer, I learned a term from my woodworking brother that I think deserves wider attention in the knitting world.
He was reading an article on “pine", I think - [and just what kind of a nut would read an article about “pine", I ask you - give me an article about “MOHAIR” any day] [...]

This year, while DH was off at the Sasquatch festival over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to clean out my closet. I hadn’t done a thorough job of this in about 6 years, during which time:

we moved from TX to OR,
I quit my day job, and
I lost ~10 pounds (from not eating fast food for [...]

Many of my knitting friends know that I love, love, LOVE old knitting books. Old VKs are a fave, but I’ll thumb through just about anything. (And I have the overflowing bookshelf in my studio to prove it.) Often you can find a stitch pattern, a silhouette, or a detail that will spark an idea. [...]

Many of my students get confused over the directive to “slip” a stitch.
To slip a stitch means simply to move it from one needle to the other without doing anything else to it.
That’s it. That’s all. Once I had a student arguing with me that “it can’t be that easy!” but believe me, it is.
Here are [...]

Is it just me, or does it happen to everyone else too?
Without fail, the handknit superwash wool socks come out of my dryer with hairs stuck to them.
At least it’s definitely our hair: my DH has dark curly hair, and I have longish red hair. Both of these end up being fairly obvious when stuck [...]