Happy 2020!

Happy Christmas everyone!  We had a great time and so much food. One Christmas tradition in my family that has stood for quite a while, since I was in 4th grade, is that on Christmas eve we have chicken fried steak, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls and chocolate pie. Before this we always ordered pineapple pizza from Domino's. One year my Grandfather decided he wanted my Mom to make chicken fried steak. Well it was delicious and it stuck. This is pretty much the only time of year I make this meal, just to make sure it stays special. We put candles in the pie and sing happy birthday to Jesus. Even as the children have gotten older that hasn't changed. Christmas Day is never the same.

This year hubby and the children will go to his brother's house and I will go to the home of my bff and play games with his family. When we all get home this though we are doing something different that I think might stick too. We are going to have tamales, beans, fries and green chili for dinner. Just have to heat it all up and then we can relax and eat.

For 2020 Mom and I have joined the MKAL that Stunning String is putting on. This is the first time that either of us have joined any kind of a yarn club and we are both very excited! We wound our yarn into cakes together. The first clue comes out on the 1st, which is a Wednesday. We won't be able to get together that day but the next clue is scheduled to come out on the following Friday, the 3rd. We will get together that day and cast on together. We each ordered a different color from the club exclusive list. Mom chose the pink peppercorn and I chose curry. We will get 3 skeins dyed in the same color; one skein will be a mohair blend. I am so excited for this! There will be a total of 5 shawls completed by the end of 2020. Because it is an MKAL it is a mystery. We are doing the knitting edition. Stunning String is offering a crochet edition this year as well. Cindy is a great knitting designer and has lined up several crochet designers to create those shawls.

I have nearly finished the projects that I refuse to carry into next year, and my Christmas presents. Uriah's gloves are completed. I learned that the letters on the fingers would have looked better in duplicate stitch but other than that I am pleased with them and they are in his stocking.

H's socks are done and will be in his stocking for Christmas eve. I worked tube socks hoping that they will fit him for a longer period of time.

 

I finished the secret socks, but can't show pictures and am about to finish the owls. I finished my Marvel shawl last weekend and now have a new neck piece to wear.

The projects waiting to be started are pictured below and the pile just keeps growing.

I have joined the 12 Days of Yarnmas on Instagram and it starts on Christmas Day. Each day there is a prompt for what kind of picture to post. While I have taken many of my pictures I'm not going to share them early; you will have to follow me and/or the on Instagram. I'm Azariahs1982 there and the #yarnmascarols . Michelle from Crafty Flutterby has put this together and she always does such fun stuff!

I have received confirmation that I will be teaching at Interweave Yarn Fest 2020! This is exciting news to me. I really feel like I have hit the "big time" now. I will be teaching all day Wednesday April 29, 2020. In the morning is Math, Yes, Math and then after lunch will be Crochet for Knitters.

I heard back from Estes Park Wool Market and I am scheduled to teach Estonian Lace, Intro to Crochet and Intro to Knitting.  Keep an eye out for when registration begins.

Longmont Yarn Shoppe recently posted a picture on Instagram of a flier from a new to me yarn festival here in Colorado. It was for the Knoble Yarn Fest in Greeley, Colorado. I signed up to take the 6 hour class to learn more about knitwear illustration from a guy named Andre from Portugal. I am hoping that this class as well as the sweater class I'm starting in January will help me to be a more efficient designer and submit more designs to more platforms. I don't want designing to be my livelihood, just fun and give others joy, not just me.

Starting January 6, 2020 I will be putting myself through the Blueprint class Sweater design with Shirley Paden. I had originally thought about a sweater that would be for cold weather, but since we are moving into warmer weather by the time I finish this piece I have decided to make a warmer weather top. I'll make a page here on the blog just for this class and announce each time it is updated.

I have 2 big goals for 2020.  One to put all my knitting and crochet books into my Ravelry library.  The other main thing I want to do is learn Imperial Length as well as I know weight.

I'm really excited to move into the new year in just a day or so.

Happy New Year everyone and until next time...

Happy making!

Good bye 2019, Hello 2020

I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving, for those who celebrate it. I had a wonderful time with the family. It was quiet, just the 5 of us and plenty of food.  The next day, as is usual we decorated the Christmas tree.
 

Sorry I am so late in posting again. The place I went to to post the last time didn't have internet that day and then the holiday... But here we are. I was also just able to get the Woolly Weirdos post up though it has been ready for a while. First world problems, what can I say.

As we are now in the final month of 2019 I want to look back a bit on what my goals were, what I accomplished and start planning for 2020. I will use this months posts to do that. This post will be about what I accomplished in 2019.

From the last post for 2018, where I talked about some projects I goals, I did okay.  I didn't learn any more about weaving and while I do have some bobbins for making bobbin lace now, I didn't learn any or even really try.  The first project listed is the Faberge Shawl, I had to rip it again because I had the colors backwards and the design wasn't going to show up.

One thing I have done all year is carry a sketch book and color pencils.  I bought a backpack just for this.  I also carry a notebook for other notes and ideas, my Bible and some knitting.

Another thing I did accomplish this year is getting the UFOs and WIPs under control. I do have them, yes. I looked through all the projects that were on needles and made some decisions. Keep and finish, give to someone else to finish or rip and reclaim yarn.

I did at least one of each. I took UFOs that had directions and added needles if needed to the community stitching group that I am part of in Aurora, Colorado and let them have at it. They do very well putting these things to use.

I finished a couple as well. One was a cotton vest that only needed decreasing done on the 2nd front. Someone had gotten fed up with it because the directions said to decrease as for the 1st side, mirroring the decreases. It really isn't that much effort to add the actual decrease directions to a pattern, especially if you know it will help the people making your design be more successful and want to do another of your pieces again.

I also went through all, and I mean all of my stash; of yarn, fiber and fleece. I got rid of nearly all of the acrylic yarn. There are a few skeins left, that while I know I can't work with them they still hold sentimental value for me. I also kept 2 lap robes that are finished pieces made from acrylic.

I do have quite a few WIPs left yet.

Alpaca After Dark

Marvel
Ri's gloves
Lace gauntlets
Socks x 2

Tears to Roses

UFOs

In the Garden

Mourning Leaves

Shetland Sampler

Franklin KAL

German Lace KAL

Russian Egg

All of these projects I evaluated and decided that they were worth continuing.

How to evaluate a project.

What is your first feeling when you pick up this project? Joy? Errr? Sure I can do this?

Who was/is it for?

If this is a project that has been sitting a while and was for a baby or a child, is it still going to fit or be age appropriate? If not should you finish it for someone else or charity?

How much time is currently invested in the project and about how much more time will it take to finish it? Don't forget to factor in finishing in ends, sewing on buttons, blocking and anything else this project needs.

How much money have you invested in materials? Do you need to buy more materials and if so can they be easily found?

These are the questions I ask myself when deciding what to do with a UFO I come across. I'll walk you through the process using one of my UFOs as an example and discuss variables that would have made me choose a different direction.

Franklin Habit KAL from February 2019

Honestly I am still on the fence with this one. I was really enjoying it and having a wonderful time. I started test knitting and was having to divide my knitting time and it got pushed to the back. I was still working on it a couple of times a week and then I fell to the bottom of my workbasket and I just forgot it for a couple of months. When I pulled it out to work on it again I couldn't figure out how I had changed the stitches to work in mirror knitting. I have looked to see if I shared anywhere what I did; Ravelry, this blog... I have checked all my notebooks and pictures and found very little information as to what I did.

I absolutely love this yarn and the feel of it knitted up. It is spending more time in my bag and not getting worked on however.

To be able to work on this project again I will have to redo all the work I did to figure out the stitches for a mirror knitter. Then I can work on it. I have plenty of yarn to finish and am about half way through the piece. I don't have another pattern or design that I want to make from this yarn...

If I rip the project it will be the yarn's second time being ripped out. I have started something with it before. It is a fine yarn and whatever I make next has to be "it" or the yarn will suffer.

The project brings me joy because it is a Victorian piece, revitalized by one of my favorite people, Franklin Habit and is in a yarn I love.

I think I will redo the work to figure out the stitches and go from there. Then at least the next time I decide to work this piece, be it "this" one or another that will already be done.

Deal breakers for a project and options of what next

When you don't have enough materials and can't get them.

Can the piece some how be made smaller without frogging and restarting? Stop now or at the end of this repeat and finish the piece. Note there will most likely be some math involved if you do this.

If money is the reason that materials can't be procured but you want the project, then set it aside and start saving to finish that project.

Not enough time

If you are on a deadline for a celebration you have three choices, cram and finish it, give them an IOU and finish it ASAP or go to the store and buy something. If you choose cram and finish it make sure that is feasible and practical. Don't try to cram a gift that needs to be finished in four days, and blocked during the rainy season, especially if it is sweater. You know your schedule and making speed, choose wisely. You can always go to the store any way. If you choose IOU, truly finish ASAP, for them and you. Then you won't be that gift giver who makes things but never finishes them and you will have your UFO gone.

Errr....

If the project invokes thoughts of wanting to throw it, you have thrown it or makes you not want to knit or crochet any more then frog it and reclaim the yarn. The only exception is commission work, otherwise let it go. Something your are making for someone else and they are paying you. This is why you have to be careful what commission work you offer and accept. If it isn't for a publication of some sort then you can go back to the person and talk about what isn't working, the yarn, the pattern... And figure out another way.

After you have let something go and frogged, if you really want to come back to it fresh then do so. If you don't circle back though you probably didn't like it all that much to begin with.

I did this with both UFOs and WIPs. What's the difference?

That answer is relative and different for each person. For me it is a matter of time. How long has it just been laying there, untouched? If it has been 3 months or more or I can't remember the last time I worked on it, UFO. I have one WIP that isn't even cast on yet, Tears to Roses. It is a personal design that I am dyeing the yarn for and the design keeps changing, While I am not knitting on it, I have swatched, am playing with color ideas and still trying to decide on the construction method.

My 2 current exceptions to the UFO rule are my Stephen West Brioche wrap and my wedding shawl.
The wrap is made up of scrap sock yarn and then 4 skeins of main color yarn.  I want to use as much of the main color as possible and so will continue this project until it is all used.  The scrap sock yarn only comes along when I finish a pair of socks however and so there is waiting time in between colors. Either because there is that much time between pairs of socks or because the colors don't work and I need a different color next.

 
My wedding shawl is my oldest WIP.  I can't tell you how long I've been at it because I haven't made a Ravelry project page yet and have no info with me.  I really enjoy it when I work on it.  Because of the white yarn and fine fabric I try to do it when there is very little else going on around me. Because each row takes about 20 minutes I want to work on it only when I have an hour or two to do only that. Progress is slow, yes but my how I am enjoying it.

I have enough UFOs and WIPs to last me knitting until 2022 at least.  I will be adding more projects but continuing to be diligent in finishing what has been laying around.

 As for launching a fiber arts guild, it was slow and soft.  I didn't push at all or put much work in to it.  I am already putting more work in.  There is a blog and an IG tag now.  I'm telling everyone and passing out fliers.  We'll see what happens next. #thewoollyweirdos

My challenge now is to decide how many different aspects of the fiber arts do I want to actively work in and how am I going to that.  Knit for sure, spinning yes, crochet, more fun that I remembered, weaving, unsure how much, embroidery, possibly.  These are all without adding something new like bobbin or spider lace.

In 2020 I want to carry out an idea I have had for a couple of years of crocheting a quilt.  The acrylic lap robes I have I want to make out of wool.  I haven't yet written down the patterns for them, as they are my designs, so I can't get rid of them yet.

I will continue to test knit and crochet, as it is something I love.  I will publish at least 4 designs.  My big goal is to work through the book by Shirley Paden for designing knitwear.  I want to complete and publish a sweater design.  If I can get my 4 shaft fully functional soon, learning to tame that beast is also on the list for 2020.

I made a bunch of snowflakes for the ladies at Bible study and they were well received.

 

Next time will be where I am on my current tests, how Christmas projects are progressing and the club I have joined for 2020.

 

Until then...

 

Happy making!

Teaching, test knits and Woolly Weirdos

I have been doing some  teaching on a regular basis lately and I am loving it!  The only down side has been the drive.  The shop where I'm teaching, Longmont Yarn Shoppe is 92 miles from my house.  It is the nearest lys where people are signing up for classes though.  There is another shop in North East Denver, aka Montbello where I have some class scheduled but no bites yet.  The shop is called Knot Just Yarn.
I have been doing some private lessons too.
I love teaching as much as making; I love to see the light bulb moments when someone "gets" it.
I have submitted classes for Yarn Fest 2020 but haven't heard anything back yet.
I just sent in classes for the next trimester at Longmont Yarn Shoppe
I also submitted classes for Estes Park Wool Market 2020 and won't know about those until the middle of January.  Patience, my friends, patience.
I have been working diligently on writing curriculum for classes that I want to teach before the class is scheduled.  The Bible teaches "to be ready in season and out" and the Lord pressed it upon my heart to apply that to the classes I want to teach.  Putting the time in on the front and not waiting until the night before class to figure it out.

Here are some pictures from my most recent Dyeing Safely Class at Longmont Yarn Shoppe.

Here is a picture from my Math, Yes Math class.  This is one of my favorite to teach.  I show how to make use of the swatch that you should be making any way.

Test knitting I have done a lot of this year.  I had as many as 5 going in on shot,  I currently have 3, 2 of which are due in the next week and a half.

I have learned so much from test knitting and been able to help independent designers get a better product out to their customers.  I really enjoy this work.  Because of test knitting I now have some practical pieces to wear on a daily basis other than shawls.  I have sweaters, a poncho and a new cowl.  I have learned new stitches and different writing styles.  When in doubt ask the designer.  They need to know if someone is struggling with some direction they wrote and many of them are glad of the help.
I have had deadlines of a couple of months or just a few days.  I love the "pressure" that it adds to my life.

The final up date is on Woolly Weirdos, the fiber arts guild that I really want to get going East of Aurora, Colorado.  The Lord put it to me that I haven't really invested enough resources in this venture and I need to do some more work.  By my next posting here I will have a posting on the Woolly Weirdos blog with next year's schedule and a picture tour of the studio we meet in.  My goal is to have enough people to have a spinning team for which ever spinning contest happens next year.

Next time I will tell you about finished objects, hopefully including a diningroom floor and planning for 2020!

Until then...

Happy making!

Stitches Salt Lake City, Utah!

This trip was so much fun! It was my first time on an air plane, first time traveling alone and staying in a hotel alone. It was AMAZING! I will totally do it again and hopefully soon.

This was not my first fiber festival. I have been going to Estes Wool Market for about 10 years and have been going to Interweave Yarn Fest since the beginning. Stitches was however the most fun. Part of that I know is being away and on my own. I will try to compare driving verses flying more objectively for you without all the other bits crowding in.

Driving to a festival really does have it's advantages. I have not driven far enough from home to have to stay over night somewhere before arriving at my destination. Keep that in mind. The biggest difference is how you pack. When I drive to a festival whether I am teaching or just enjoying I can bring anything that will fit in the van and that's a lot of stuff. I am getting better about how much I bring. I try to use most everything I bring at least once. Yes there are still some items that are back up in case of... There will always be those. I do bring both wheels and next time I drive will also be bringing my electric wheel.

The area of packing where there was little difference was the clothing. There were 2 fashion shows at Stitches. One to attend and one to participate in. There was also a Pajama Party. I had to have something for all of those. I also had to pack Dolores and all her outfits.

 

I did manage to get everything to Salt Lake in 2 carry on bags. The return trip home was a different story. I did check a bag. That was because of how much I bought from vendors in Salt Lake. That is another advantage to driving, plenty of room, unless you buy something large like a ewe or spinning wheel then it could get ify.

For me the difference in vendors was good. I did know a couple of vendors, but mostly I got to meet some new to me people. Locals in Utah and then some from states further west that haven't been to the festivals in Colorado.

Over all it was fun and exciting. I got to meet and take classes from Franklin Habit, had dinner with Marly Bird from Red Heart yarn and got to see the guys from Leading Men Fiber Arts again. While staying some what local for a fiber festival is nice, I would highly recommend planning well and going to one that you fly or take a train to. It makes it even more special to know that even farther from home that are crazy woolly people just like you.

For 2020 my husband and I will go to Yarn Fest if they have it. Are planning Salida and I want to go to Toas. We'll see where the Lord opens doors.

If you have never been to a fiber festival of any kind, please, please go. Yes it will be a bit overwhelming when you first walk in to the vendor area. There are a lot of choices of yarn, fiber and tools. Many festivals have hands on areas and some activities that are only for children. Some festivals in the warmer part of the year also have animals and for many that do, this is an opportunity for ranchers to sell animals and 4-H-ers to show theirs. To help with all the choices on the vending floor I recommend doing a full round of seeing everything before buying anything. This prevents buyers remorse. If you do see something on round one that you can't live without and it may not be there in 30 minutes, then you have a decision to make. You know yourself and shopping habits best, good luck. After having gone to a couple of festivals I now go in with a list of things I am looking for such as tools. I will make a list of yarn wanted with the project info attached. The one thing I always buy is a skein of sock yarn. That will be for my show socks. I have a pair from each show for the last 3 years I think.

Be sure and thank the vendors. I got a behind the scenes look at Stitches Salt Lake. I helped a vendor tear down and pack up. Watching the other vendors and overhearing conversation I learned a lot. The time, effort and trouble they go through to make that booth pretty and fun is a lot of work. Depending on the venue, the parking is hard to find and can be another expense we don't even think about. They put in a lot of time and effort.

For Stitches Salt Lake I finished my Journey to the Cape sweater. On Thursday night, the night before the fashion show I finished my "Love you too!" socks. Before coming to Salt Lake I decided I needed a skirt to go with my sweater. I don't sew unless I have to. I designed this A-line skirt all by myself and am pretty proud of it. I wore all these to the fashion show, on the run way on Friday night. It was a bit scary. I have done fashion shows before. There is one at Yarn Fest. That on is easy though, you walk around all the tables and show your piece. A real runway with marks of where to stop, bright lights and a camera at the end was new, hard and fun. That I will do again too, some day.

 

I also finished Dolores' newest outfit. I used the mattress stitch on it just as I did on my sweater. I talked about the mattress stitch on Instagram and have been planning videos. I was going to do the videos while in Utah but lost one of the balls of yarn. I did find it before I left but have just been too busy to record. Hoping to get those up by the end of the week. Watch IG to find out when and where I decide to post them.

 

I finished a test knit for Ioarma but can't share any more than that here because it is a secret and she hasn't said when she is releasing it or anything. I will say it was a very fun project with some traveling stitches.

My Bonfire Poncho from Little Woolly Things is finished but haven't had light to get pictures with the snow we had come through this week.  Too cold to go out and do it too.

I am still hard at work on my Boho Wreath sweater and That's My Jam wrap. They are both do on the 15th and I should make that.

I picked up another sweater test from Jill Karina that I will start when those 2 are completed.

I am still working on my own designs as well and am planning to release a new one on the first of December. It will be a small piece that can be made quickly as a gift or for yourself. I originally made them from 100% yak yarn. Since Bijou Basin has gone out of business though I wanted a yarn that was still available and have chosen Luna Lace from Deep Dyed yarns. This design uses 15/0 seed beads. I love them in this colorway and can't wait to be finished.

 

I am furthering my education in designing and taking the next step. On November 18th I will be starting the online, Blueprint class with Shirley Paden. I also have the companion book that as I understand is currently out of print. I have never designed a sweater before. I only started knitting sweaters just this year. I am excited to see what comes of this.

I'm also working on my drawing skills, as many places that you submit designs to want a drawing idea of the finished piece; be the submission be for a fashion show or pattern to publish. My sister suggested a book by Christopher Hart and it is helping. Now I just need to do it more so that it sticks.

After being snowed in for about 4 days, it is nice to get out and feel some sunshine.

Stay warm or cool where ever you are.

Until next time...

Happy making!

To the Mattress!

Greetings!  It is finally fall here on the eastern plains of Colorado.  The nights are getting to be chilly and the days are cooler, most of the time.  Still a mid or high 80F here and there...
Fall is my favorite season; the crunchy leaves, all the different colors of grasses, fire pits and of course pumpkin everything.  I hope that whatever season you are currently you can see joy in something.

This last week I finished my Journey to the Cape sweater, from BohoChic Fiber Arts.  I worked it in two differnet colors because that was what I had in worsted weight yarn.  I didn't put any thought into which color would be the back and which would be the front.  I am very pleased with how it ended up though.  I'm not so sure that the cables would have shown up as nicely in the darker orange.
I don't have many new pictures to share as it was just removed from the bath for blocking this morning.

I do want to share with you the joining technique that I used to join the front to the back, it is called the mattress stitch; but first let me update you on my projects and what I've been up to.

I didn't post last week as there just wasn't much to share in the way of projects.  I did go to Schacht Spindle Company's 50th anniversary in Boulder, Colorado.  Carl and I had a great time there.  We shopped, volunteered and ate.  The weather was sunny and not too hot.  It was a wonderful day outside.  We met the owners, Berry and Jane and their daughter Nora.  The entire family and staff were very welcoming.  Anne Merrow and Elizabeth Prose from Long Thread Media were there, as well as Linda Ligon with Thrums books.  Carl surprised me with a new bag from Hummingbird Moon and I bought a braid of the Berries Julbilee from Sweet Georgia.

The other items in the pictures are fiber to dye for a prize for Spin Together 2019, a back strap loom with a partial project from Cloth Roads and a new children's book about fiber.


That same weekend was the Art Walk in down town Longmont, Colorado, which isn't far from Boulder.  Carl and I stayed the night in Longmont to participate in the Art Walk the next day.  Before going to the art walk we walked around the farmer's market at the Boulder county fair grounds.  We bought a pint of ghost peppers and some green tomatoes for frying.  Carl has since dried the ghost peppers in the dehydrator in the garage.  The smell was too much to do it in the house.  For lunch we went to our favorite diner, Aunt Alice's near 17th and Main.  Longmont Yarn Shoppe hosted the faster knitter and crocheter contest for Boulder county.  I only participated in the knit part and won first place.  Then we did a fashion show.  It was a lot of fun!  We did all of this right in the middle of Main Street.

I have been hard at work on my Journey sweater so that I could take it to Stitches Salt Lake; more on that in a minute.  I have also gone back to working on my Love you too socks.  I have finished one and am about a third of the way through the 2nd.  I am hoping to wear them, with the sweater and a skirt I sewed at the fashion show in Salt Lake on Friday night.  I have nearly finished Dolores' new outfit for Salt Lake as well.

Stitches Salt Lake is going to be many firsts for me; my first time on a plane, first time traveling alone and my first Franklin Habit class.  I am really excited about this trip!  I leave on Wednesday afternoon.  I am staying in the Little America hotel.  I know nothing about it, only that it is a half mile walk to the Salt Palace Convention Center where Stitches is happening.  I am taking two classes with Franklin; Tessellations and Steek and Zip.  I am very excited for both classes.  I haven't finished my homework for Steek and Zip yet but will in time for class on Saturday.  Thursday night is the vendor and designer fashion show and a PJ party.  Friday night is the student fashion show and banquet.  This is going to be a great week!  I will share pictures in 2 weeks.


Now for the mattress stitch technique.  I used this stitch when finishing the Scrappy Knit Pillow, but had to go look it up again to see exactly how it is done.  I found this site, took a couple of screen shots and was on my way again.  When I did it on the pillow I followed exactly what the directions said.  This time I was curious what would happen if I did it in the middle of a stitch.  This sweater has a two stitch selvedge; the very edge stitch is garter and the other stitch is stockinette.  I decided to join the front and the back of the sweater using the mattress stitch in the middle of the stockinette stitches.

Here is what happened.

I actually screamed when I snugged up those stitches and got this amazing seam.  I will share a couple more photos and the basics of how I did this here.  On Friday I will share video on IG in my stories and then archive it so it'll be there for later viewing.

Here I have used the bar in the center of each V to sew the pieces together.

Here is a shot of each side of the selvedge stitches.

Next post will be in two weeks with finished photos on this sweater and pictures from Stitches Salt Lake.  If you don't want to wait check out Azariahs1982 on IG as I will be posting there at least daily.

Happy making!
And happy fall!

Charts are Our Friends, just like blueberries!

Hi Everyone!
I hope that the weather change where ever you are has been nice for you be it cooling down or warming up.  Here in Eastern Colorado it is still a mix bag.  The mornings are cool enough for a shawl or light sweater but you want it gone by lunch.  I am very ready for Fall and can't wait for the leaves to begin to fall.

I have finally finished my Sparkling Leaves sweater!  There is still no picture of me wearing however because it took a week for it to dry after blocking.  I don't have a sweater blocker and didn't see the need until this week.  I will be ordering one soon.  I didn't have light for a picture last night but will get one this afternoon and post it to IG tomorrow.

Here is the finished sweater folded on my lap.  The neck stretched out a bit when I moved the sweater to dry on a chair...  It'll be okay until next blocking I think.  If not I'll reblock just the collar.  If I have to do that I'll have a tutorial here on how to do that.

I have been hard at work on my Journey to the Cape sweater as well as my Bonfire Poncho.  I am really enjoying both of them.  I don't have any pictures of either of them that you haven't seen yet.  The cable pictures from last week are from the sweater and I haven't taken any photos of the poncho in a while.  I will do that before joining the to sides this week and share next week.
Both of these pieces have cables and some texture stitches so both are interesting.

This week I also made a small prayer cloth for my best friend, Robbie, who celebrated being clean for a year.  Here is a picture of it.

I made the trinity symbol from purl stitches.  I wasn't sure how well it would show up on the black but I think it turned out decent in the black and since I charted it free hand.  I will probably use this motif again.  I filed that chart away in my box of ideas.  I will cover in a future post how I try to keep ideas organized so that I can find them later.

So now to get to the point of this post really, charts.  I know some of you cringe at that word, just like the word swatch.  Ha ha ha!  Okay enough of that.  Charts really can be your friend, if you take the time to get to know them.  They have saved my knitting life again and again.

The most recent save was actually during a test knit, this one. I was struggling with the math of one of the rounds and how the stitches were supposed to work out.  I decided to chart it so that in my left handedness I could "see" what was going on.  After some experience with charts you will learn to read the chart and it will also help you learn to read your knitting.

I read a knitting chart from left to right on the right side of a piece and from right to left on the wrong side of a piece.  A right handed knitter will read the chart the opposite direct for each of those.  The idea is that you want to be working the stitches and reading the chart in the same direction.  Think of the chart like a fence.  A fence has two sides.  For the right side, the front you walk down the fence one way, for the wrong side, you will turn your piece around, and walk back down the other side oft he fence, thus seeing a different side.  The only time you work from the same direction for both odd and even numbers is when working in the round.  Then you will continually walk around a round fenced pen.

Anything that has pictures or letters I have to have a chart to make sure it is correct.

Charts usually take up less space and visually make more sense than word written directions.  This is not always the case however.  I have worked more than one test knit that prints out at over ten pages and I wondered why didn't they chart this?  I soon learned that a chart would take much more space than necessary; either for the empty spaces from the shifting stitches or because there was no true repeat of rows.  However on the other end of that I am working that cabled sweater from 6 total pages of directions, because the cables are charted.

Charted cables really are the best way to go with charts, then you know exactly which way each cable is supposed to lean just by looking at the chart.  No flipping back to see where the cable needle needs to be, again with some experience.

I use cables for lace, with or with out row or round repeats, as to write lace directions would cause my eyes to cross and I don't think anyone would do lace.

Color work is the most popular for charts, it would be nearly impossible without charts.  These are an okay place to start for reading charts, but then you have the 2 colors or more to deal with.  Another good place could be something similar that I made like the little pocket prayer cloth above.  It is just texture, done all in one color but I did use a chart from both the right and the wrongs sides. If you are interested in it just ask and I'll send you a pdf with directions to get started.

I did successfully start two projects this week.  Ri's mitts for Christmas.  I have half of a cuff worked.  The yarn ended but I'm not sure why but I thought it was a good time to talk to him about length for the cuff.  Yesterday he told me he would like it to be twice as long please.  So I will finish that this week and start working on the color work.

I also started a new outfit for Dolores, the Sensuous Ewe Caftan.  I am hoping to have this finished for her for Utah.  I really am enjoying the yarn that came in the kit from Webs.  That is one of the biggest reasons I order and make these kits for Dolores, to get to use yarns I probably wouldn't get to use otherwise.  I wouldn't order a shawls worth of yarn for myself.  I am also working with all different weights, fibers and colors.  Helps me get out of the box a little bit.

Next week I'll show you a couple of different ways to work a granny square and talk about differnet reasons and applications for each method.

Until then...
Happy making!

BTW I did get some demo cable videos up on IG if you want to see I'm Azariahs1982

Look Ma, no needle!

Happy Monday Everyone!

It feels so good to get back to some normal finally. This week is scheduled to be "normal". Keeping in mind that I need to be flexible. As Pastor Chuck Smith often said "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken." So true. I'm just happy to be standing on the threshold of a week that doesn't have 3 days full of stuff to do. I get to be at home, doing the work I love. Test knitting, designing and this week I start Christmas presents!

I'm also planning for my trip to Stitches Salt Lake. I'll talk about all of that and working cables without a cable needle. So grab something to drink and let's get started.

I will finally finish my Sparkling Leaves Sweater tonight. Since I was slow working it, I was able to test the sleeve shaping out so that Jill could see it before the pattern went live. It went live today.  Here is the pattern.

I worked the 3X size. I used Nature Spun in sport weight from The Brown Sheep Company. The main color was Harvest Grape and the color of the leaves is called Mill Blue. It took me longer than I expected because of the heat we have been experiencing here in Colorado. Knitting with a wool sweater on my lap in 100 degree heat is not my idea of fun. We don't have AC or even a swamp cooler, just drink lots, wear light clothing and stay in the basement. I will share a picture of wearing it next week. 

I am also testing knitting the Bonfire shawl for Wendelika and the Journey to the Cape sweater for Annie Lupton. There are not pictures of them as I haven't made much progress due to working almost only on the Sparkling Leaves sweater.

The latest design and starting Christmas presets this week goes hand in hand. My son last year asked for finger-less gloves for hunting. By the time the yarn arrived and I played around a bit with ribbing and some color work, his hands had out grown what I started. I then got sick and was hardly knitting. I talked to him about the design again, traced his hand and took measurements. His hands have grown enough that I am going to use a similar design to that of the ones I made for my best friend. The difference for my son's is that the palm side will be worked in rib. I am hoping this will bring a snugger fit that will grow with him.

I am working on a lace gauntlet design and am about half way though the first one, again. The first go around was way too big. The notes I had, in the computer, not written, so no mistake there, said to use a US size 4 needle. That was way too big. After some swatching, I have gone down to a US size 0, big difference I know, but I am loving the fabric.

Tomorrow I will finish preparing the wool yarn to dye for my next big design, Tears to Roses. This design has been in process for over a year. I have done swatching and tiny dye jobs to choose colors. I have finally chosen colors, fade direction and edging. I will also be swatching this week to choose stockinette back ground or reverse stockinette.

For the trip to Stitches Salt Lake, I am very excited and a bit apprehensive.  I have never flown on a plane and I have never traveled alone.  I will be doing both for this trip.  Well Dolores is going with me, but...

I will be taking two classes from Franklin Habit; Tessellations and Steeking.  I am excited about both and think that both of these are excellent next steps in my designing and fiber arts career.

Cabling without a cable needle.  I am only going to cover a one over one cable stitch.  This is the easiest to do without a cable needle.  A two over two can be worked the same way but is more fiddly.  I personally use a cable needle for anything larger, as I have yet to find a method that works for me without losing the stitches.  If you have suggestions, please leave a comment.

I am currently working these cables in the Journey to the Cape Sweater and the Owlie socks I started in July.  Remember I am a true left handed knitter and you may need to reverse these directions for it to work for you.

To work a one over one cable that leans to the left I work as follows.  Insert the needle into the second stitch as if to knit, in front of the first stitch.

Knit leaving that stitch on the needle.

Knit the first stitch normally.

Drop both stitches from the needle.

To work a one over one cable that leans to the right I work as follows.  Insert the needle into the second stitch as if to knit, behind the first stitch.

Knit this stitch, leaving it on the needle.

Knit the first stitch normally.

Drop both stitches from the needle.

A column of finished cables.

I will post a video on my IG on Friday of how to do each of these.  Look for #azariahstip

That is all for this week.  Fall is on it's way in my hemisphere and I couldn't be happier.

Happy making!