FOUR NEEDLES, 2 NEEDLES OR 1?

Sock knitting is the hottest craze. You have striped yarn, solid colors, jacquards and so much more. They come in skeins, balls, and now even FLAT FEET. So....it's your choice....4 needles or 2 needles or 1 lonnnnng needle?

Everyone has their preference. I learned to sock knit several years ago and got hooked on teaching it to anyone and everyone! I do like double points. To me, they make sense. I tried the 2 circular needles and honestly, I got confused! I also tried the Magic Loop method which a lot of people love. I like it to a point.....and then again, I get confused!!!

I would love to share how I learned to sock knit. You know, sometimes the Good Lord sends us people for a brief moment and then you never see them again. I had this one lady truck driver, who was just a bit taller than a fire hydrant, who drifted into our store and claimed that she loved to wear her knitted socks with clogs as she drove her 18 wheeler. She advised me to knit socks using size 15 needles. I thought that was a bit too much....I didn't want a Christmas stocking. Anyway, her point was to knit socks on larger needles so that you can see what you're doing PLUS it gets done faster! I teach sock knitting using Encore worsted weight yarn and size 7 double points. The stitcher gets the job done in 3 sessions (at least 1 sock is completed at the end of the third session.) They may not be socks that you would use in your shoes or sneakers, but they're great to walk around in the house! I love the Ann Norling pattern (#12). It gives you 3 sock gauges: Fingering, DK/Sport and Worsted. This is a GREAT beginners sock pattern and I've sold a ga-zillion of this pattern since we started teaching.

So, regardless of how many needles you use: 4, 2 or even 1 lonnng one, the point is (ha ha) to learn how to sock knit. Try it......I promise you ..... you will LOVE IT!!

Oh, and by the way, I took that Ann Norling pattern one Friday afternoon, used size 10 double points and created a Christmas stocking!! It was finished 2 days later on a Sunday evening! It's hanging on our store's wall.

HAPPY (SOCK) KNITTING, my friends!

Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave.....

Years ago, when the scarf craze was HOT, we used to knit or crochet with fancy yarns...and it was mostly with 2 yarns together. I remember knitting a triangular scarf riding in the car to our daughter's house. I said to myself...'I don't need to separate these yarns, I'll be okay.' So wrong!!!

As I'm riding, I'm cutting and knotting, cutting and knotting, and then I cut and I knotted again!!!

So, how do you avoid this mess? You can do a few things: either put each ball of yarn in a zip lock bag OR we carry zippered vinyl bags that have either 1, 2 or 3 holes in the top. This way, the yarn is separated, but in one container!!

It really doesn't matter which yarns you're putting together.....just separate them. They will definitely fight like 2 unruly children. Don't be cocky and NOT separate them---trust me!!! You will definitely be happy that you did!!

HAPPY STITCHING, my friends!!

K2, P2, K4, P6, * #&! % $, OH MY!!

I taught a cable purse this morning and in teaching this class I realized that sometimes when we have a lot of changes (k2, p2, k4, p6, etc.) along a row, it tends to get mighty confusing in reading where we have already gone!

So, how can we fix this!? First off, I like to make a copy of my pattern. I bought it---it's mine--I can make a copy (but don't pass it on to your friends). I'll mark the pattern up for easy reading. Today, I took the row of changes and with my yellow hi-lighter I hi-lighted the knit stitches. They stood out so that the stitcher can see and follow a little bit easier than just reading across the row.

If that doesn't work, then re-write the instructions as I have said in another blog:
K2
P2
K4
P6

Re-writing the instructions vertically is easier on the eye so you can follow it a bit faster!

Oh, and don't forget your Post-It Note to keep your place!

HAPPY STITCHING, my fellow knitters!

NEW PROJECT/OLD PROJECT

In October 2007 I started a wonderful knit sweater that I happened to see at our summer convention. The beauty of this sweater is that it starts from the left sleeve, then you knit the left front, then the back, then the right sleeve and then you finish it off by knitting the right front. Easy? Yes. AND...there's a but! I truly enjoyed knitting this project, but something else (who remembers what) came along and I stopped knitting my wonderful sweater.

So why is this blog titled NEW PROJECT/OLD PROJECT? The sweater is my old project that I put down for almost a year (shame on me) and now that I'm finished working all that needed to be done for classes, I wanted to start something new.....ta-da, my sweater, now a new project.

The problem with starting something new that was old is that I didn't practice what I normally preach. NEVER, EVER put down a project and not note where you were on your instructions. It took a while before I knew where I was PLUS I needed help, from Peggy, to find my place.

So, needless to say...IF and WHEN you put down a project, you MUST note where you stopped or else!!! Use a Post-It Note to keep track, that much I've said before on other blogs!

You will save yourself a lot of heartache and time to keep your place!!

HAPPY STITCHING, my friends!!

Denise Interchangeable Needles

I have been asked: "What kind of needles do YOU like?" Well, I'm a chameleon. I can use any needles, but I do like my Denise Interchangeable Needles. Never heard of them? Let me tell you how great they are!

First, they come as a set: Sizes 5 through 15. If you want sizes 17 and 19, then they are sold separately. They come with 6 cords: 5", 9", 12", 14" and 19". They have 2 extenders so that you can join your cords to make a longer cord (for BIG projects), and 4 end buttons. The end buttons are used so that you can use them as straight needles. BUT...if you don't want to use 2 different size cords, they do carry a companion set so that you have the same 6 size cords as the kit. You can even use the cord as a stitch holder: just put the end buttons on each side of the cord!

Now the beauty of using these needles is this: suppose you are knitting on regular circular needles and you purl looser than you knit. Your project will be uneven: the knit stitches will be tighter than the purls. IF you were using your Denise needles, you can use one size smaller for you purls so that you are knitting evenly!!! This happened to one of our customers who happened to be knitting a sweater for her daughter-in-law. She had to pull out the whole project because she was knitting unevenly.

Also, they are very easy to connect - put the cord into the needle and turn a 1/4 turn and it's connected!

If you are traveling and want to take a few projects with you, then you have your needles all in one set. Need to change to another project, but use the same size needles? No problem. Just unhook them and put the end buttons and your safe.

So, I guess you could say I really LOVE my set of Denise Needles! They are a fine quality of needles and are a delight to knit on!

Try them, you'll love them too!!!

(P.S. We carry them at our shop, A Stitcher's Haven)

HAPPY STITCHING, my friends!!

FELTING---HOT OR COLD

I want to share a story with you regarding felting. Peggy, one of my employees, was becoming a grandmother for the first time. She knitted an adorable sweater with a hood for her new granddaughter. The yarn was 99% wool and 1% nylon. Knowing that the sweater was made of wool, her daughter thought 'I'll wash it in cold water so it won't shrink.' Well, I guess we all would think that. But guess what? It shrunk....and got real small---small enough to fit one of our bears!

Try this little exercise: take a strand of 100% wool and moisten it. Now rub it between your fingers for about 10 minutes or so. It soon will felt. It's not so much the hot water that turns your BIG project into the size it should be...it's the agitation of the washing machine that felts it. That's what happened to the sweater!

It probably is better to felt in hot water, since we're instructed to do so. Rule of thumb: do what your instructions tell you to do. Don't be afraid to felt. It really isn't hard to do. I always start out washing it for 10 minutes, then I check EVERY 5 MINUTES, and then restart the machine to it's longest cycle. Just remember that when you stop seeing your stitches, then your project is felted enough. The only thing that I don't care for is that your project smells like wet dog in a rain storm!! Never put it through a rinse and spin cycle. Rinse out the project in your sink and gently squeeze until you get most of the water out. Then air dry---which will take several days.

So, felting should be done in hot water...but remember you can felt in cold water as well!!

Happy Stitching!!!! (or should I say Happy Felting!!)

Tips of the Trade

While trying to help a new knitter, who happened to learn the continental method of knitting (yarn in the left hand), I saw how tight her stitches were.

For those who knit continental method, it is VERY important that you NOT knit on the tip of the needle. The purpose of the tip is so that the needle can enter the stitch easily. Think of this: there's no point on the needle. How hard would it be to get the needle into the stitch? VERY hard!!! By knitting on the tip, you will never get your gauge (SEE other blog: TO GAUGE OR NOT TO GAUGE...THAT IS THE QUESTION--July 2008). If you are knitting tightly and you are knitting, say, an afghan, you're going to use much more yarn than if you knitted it to gauge. Why? The tighter the rows, the more yarn you will need to get to your length.

The reason why we have different sizes of needles is because of the types of yarns that are available: fingering, sport, DK, worsted, chunky, bulky. If there was just one needle and we just knitted on the tips, can you imagine how tight the stitches would be?

So my suggestion is this: cast onto another set of needles and knit onto the SHAFT of the needle. That's the area just passed the point. Practice your knits and purls for awhile and get used to knitting on that area. I tell my knitting newbies to think of your needles as a pencil. You don't knit on the sharpened area of the pencil, but just below it, on the yellow! If you look at your needles that way, you will be surprised how much easier your stitches will flow when you knit properly on the shaft!

So, that's my TIP of the trade today!!!

Happy Stitching, fellow knitters!!