Mar 21
OK, so you know I don't like to use the "m" word when it comes to knitting, because KNITTING is not actually MAGIC.
But a few weeks ago, in my "what-I-want-to-knit-this-year" list, I mentioned a yarn-usage technique that is often known as the "magic ball". Because this isn't actually a knitting technique so much as it is a clever way to use yarn, I decided I can more-or-less live with the "m" word in this case.
Some habits die hard. Has anyone ever heard the joke that an engineer only needs two data points to come to a conclusion?
Data Point 1: A couple of years back, in January '08, I was working on the sweater I dubbed the "Nutcracker", after the name of the spread in Vogue Knitting's Holiday '07 issue. I ran into a few issues with that project — which are spelled out beginning with this post — but the biggest problem was that I suspected (and can in fact mathematically prove) that the model was photographed with a big ol' wad of fabric bunched up behind her back, to make the sweater design look fitted, when in fact it was not.
Yesterday at the LYS, I took part in a discussion about SABLE.
What, you never heard of SABLE? You might even be a member of SABLE!
SABLE stands for "Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy". A person becomes a member of this group when she owns more yarn than she can reasonably expect to knit in her years remaining on this mortal coil.*
Oct 31
Well, I’m sure both of you have done Kitchener stitch, or grafting, in the usual way: it involves a tapestry needle, at least one reference book, and some quiet time alone — not to mention gnashing of teeth.
Oct 16
Here’s a quote from the latest Vogue Knitting email:
Introducing the VK360°
Vogue Knitting Holiday 2008 is now officially on sale…and on video!
This issue, we decided to put every project up on the big screen—due in large part to all of your positive feedback (thanks VK readers!).
Apr 7
What a week it has been. I had a birthday, so I took a few days off — DH had the flu, so he did too. Is it just me, or is it darned near impossible to get anything done when your husband is home? So, not much posting going on.
Mar 17
As part of "fun weekend", DH and I went and visited a place on the other side of the river, called "SCRAP".
SCRAP — The School and Community Reuse Action Project – is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our mission is to promote creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing educational programs and affordable materials to the community.
Here we are again – and believe it or not, progress is being made. We are up to the Fair Isle panel, which is the most complex part of the whole thing. Keep breathing.
Read more on Nutcracker Sweet, Part 7 – the Fair Isle panel…
Or to put it another way, the Turn of the Screw. Emphasis squarely on the word "screw".
Because get ready, kids — here’s where it all falls apart. Or at least it gets a whole lot more complicated. Turns out I picked a real doozy to start off the Playing Lessons with…! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Read more on Nutcracker Sweet, Part 5 – the fit of the bodice…
Jan 25
The most important piece of knitting advice I ever found was in the Holiday ’87 issue of Vogue Knitting. (I must have found it while I was knitting those lousy boyfriend sweaters.)
Anyone remember this?
Ahem. OK, I admit I’ve been stalling a bit. Last time, I said I was going to address the fitting issues, which leads me straight to a couple of my personal bugaboos.
Q. When is a picture NOT worth a thousand words?
A. When it is a BFL (Big Fat Lie).
One of my biggest knitting peeves is photography in knitting publications that is a deliberate misrepresentation of the article in question. (A close second is "artsy" photography, at the expense of seeing what the garment actually looks like.)
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 through my old back issues looking for exciting stuff to knit, than the current issues.
Oct 4
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. Looking at vintage styles is a great way to train your eye to distinguish between short-lived trends and enduring classics. Most knitters I know don’t want to knit a sweater that will be out of style next year. After all that work, they want something that will be wearable for a while. If you can open a 40-year-old book and spot something that still looks good, you have a pretty good idea that it will look good for another 40 years! Vogue Knitting used to have a feature in every issue called “Then and Now", which was by far the best thing in the magazine. They would take an old style from a vintage issue and make up a modern version, using current yarns and colors. Occasionally they modified the fit a bit, but mostly the copy was true to the original. Unfortunately, and unfathomably, they stopped doing it. It became hit-or-miss in the mid-to-late nineties, and by now has apparently been given up completely. I have no idea why on earth they discontinued this feature! Now I can only count myself lucky that I learned this concept early in my knitting career. 
Here’s my latest vintage knit – a skimpy black vest, made in my fave fiber (mohair) – along with the modern ad that had me looking around for skimpy vests.
Compare my version to the original vintage pattern pic. And just in case anyone else wants to find it, here is the cover of the vintage Spinnerin book it is in.
Interesting note: the vintage directions do not result in the somewhat odd sleeves shown in the vintage picture. (I guess typos in knitting patterns have been around as long as there have been patterns.) You would have to cast on some extra sts at the armholes to get the silhouette shown, and the instructions don’t call for that at all. I knitted the armholes according to the directions, although I modified the original instructions to knit it all in one piece, eliminating the side seams. Great stuff!
Sep 28
So, you may have noticed that in the previous post, I said that my sister was knitting a sweater for her fiance.
YIKES! but what about the famous, infamous Sweater Curse?
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