I haven't totally fallen off the planet- just a very busy week with a million things on the to-do list. I'll be on my way to the cooler country of Northern Arizona this weekend to escape the blistering heat. Maybe some actual master knitting will get done!
On a great note this week, though, my new website should be ready for business very, very soon! I also found out that a sweater I knit for Southwest Trading Company will be featured in the winter issue of Knit 'n Style Magazine!! No, as the knitter, my name won't be on it, but I know I knit it all the same. Exciting stuff!
Thanks to Catherine for the helpful advice and encouragement! I'm sure I'm going to need lots of it!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Just For Fun...
I didn't accomplish a darn thing today as far as the Master's program goes. In fact, I had kind of a lousy day.
Sometimes we just need to laugh, though, sooo... I hope you enjoy this!
Sometimes we just need to laugh, though, sooo... I hope you enjoy this!
Monday, July 11, 2011
A Little Progress... At Last!
I found just the yarn I want to use for the swatches in my stash! It's Jojoland worsted wool. It has a nice twist, a smooth but not slick texture, and overall has a very nice hand to it. I have plenty to do some practice swatches and then do the "real" ones. I'll be using the greatest needles, too. They are the Hiya Hiya stainless steel interchangeables.
After a lot of research, I discovered that I'm not the first knitter to have trouble with the first swatch. That 2 x 2 ribbing is easy to do evenly at smaller gauges, not so easy with the larger gauges. I kept getting these big, loopy looking knit stitches just to the right of the purls. Frustrating! I tried all the tricks that were suggested, and finally hit on the method that works best for me. It will be a bit fiddly until my hands and my brain adapt, though!
The thing I'm learning is not to be in such a hurry all the time and just focus on the task at hand. For many years I worked in a very busy, high stress environment. Multi-tasking and rushing to keep up became sort of second nature. I see it in my everyday life, too. Trying to do too many things at once, and inevitably forgetting where I put something (usually my keys) because my head was miles ahead of what I was actually doing. I'm trying to lose those bad habits, and maybe this knitting challenge I've taken on will help.
After a lot of research, I discovered that I'm not the first knitter to have trouble with the first swatch. That 2 x 2 ribbing is easy to do evenly at smaller gauges, not so easy with the larger gauges. I kept getting these big, loopy looking knit stitches just to the right of the purls. Frustrating! I tried all the tricks that were suggested, and finally hit on the method that works best for me. It will be a bit fiddly until my hands and my brain adapt, though!
The thing I'm learning is not to be in such a hurry all the time and just focus on the task at hand. For many years I worked in a very busy, high stress environment. Multi-tasking and rushing to keep up became sort of second nature. I see it in my everyday life, too. Trying to do too many things at once, and inevitably forgetting where I put something (usually my keys) because my head was miles ahead of what I was actually doing. I'm trying to lose those bad habits, and maybe this knitting challenge I've taken on will help.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Ravelry!
Thank goodness for Ravelry. For those who don't know, Ravelry is an online group for fiber artists- knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers... you get the picture. Within Ravelry are many, many sub-groups for almost anything under the sun. There is a group for the TKGA, and in the discussion section, I found a thread dealing with the Master Knitter process for Level 1.
It turns out I have misread the requirements as far as needles and gauge (and God only knows what else) and I've been making this whole process much more difficult than it needed to be. What a relief! So, at least for now, I don't feel like I've failed the program before I even started! I've been scoping out different yarns to use for the swatches and have it sort of narrowed down. I'll play with them all for a bit and see what suits.
We (hubby, granddaughter and I) spent Independence Day weekend in Prescott. It was lovely to get out of the blistering heat of Phoenix, and even lovelier to get to visit one of my favorite yarn shops ever! A Good Yarn is a wonderful, friendly shop. It's a place where you're welcome to bring your knitting, put your feet up and spend the day if you want. I picked out some great sky blue Cascade 220 for my granddaughter's birthday sweater, found a magazine, and generally forgot the world for a bit.
Now that we're home, I'll be back at it with the Master's Program, and will also finish setting up my new website. (More on that when I'm actually up and running with it!)
It turns out I have misread the requirements as far as needles and gauge (and God only knows what else) and I've been making this whole process much more difficult than it needed to be. What a relief! So, at least for now, I don't feel like I've failed the program before I even started! I've been scoping out different yarns to use for the swatches and have it sort of narrowed down. I'll play with them all for a bit and see what suits.
We (hubby, granddaughter and I) spent Independence Day weekend in Prescott. It was lovely to get out of the blistering heat of Phoenix, and even lovelier to get to visit one of my favorite yarn shops ever! A Good Yarn is a wonderful, friendly shop. It's a place where you're welcome to bring your knitting, put your feet up and spend the day if you want. I picked out some great sky blue Cascade 220 for my granddaughter's birthday sweater, found a magazine, and generally forgot the world for a bit.
Now that we're home, I'll be back at it with the Master's Program, and will also finish setting up my new website. (More on that when I'm actually up and running with it!)
Friday, July 1, 2011
2 x 2 Ribbing
I started doing practice swatches yesterday for the 2 x 2 ribbing. Simple beginner k2, p2 ribbing. When I started looking at the swatch through the eyes of the "knitting police" the swatches looked... not good. I need to go back and look at the socks and sweaters I've made with this same ribbing. Are they all wonky and weird, too? Why is that second knit stitch bigger than the first? I know- it's because the purl stitch that follows it is always a little looser, but I never noticed it on my knitting before! How come some of the stitches just look plain crooked? I looked at some of my socks and a couple of the sweaters... nope- no wonky stitches.
My conclusion is that I'm using "crap yarn" to practice with. It's an acrylic/wool blend, kind of loosely spun, very much on the cheap. (I use it for teaching.) Also, said "crap yarn" is worsted weight and calls for 5mm (US 8) needles. The instructions say to use worsted weight yarn and the needle the manufacturer recommends for that yarn. I rarely use needles that big. Usually my limit is a 4.5mm.
I'm going to try using a smoother, better quality yarn with a slightly tighter spin. Maybe that will help. And maybe the recommended needle size will be a bit smaller and that will help, too. It's gotta help. It has to be the yarn and the needles, right?
I'm off to raid my stash for the good stuff.
My conclusion is that I'm using "crap yarn" to practice with. It's an acrylic/wool blend, kind of loosely spun, very much on the cheap. (I use it for teaching.) Also, said "crap yarn" is worsted weight and calls for 5mm (US 8) needles. The instructions say to use worsted weight yarn and the needle the manufacturer recommends for that yarn. I rarely use needles that big. Usually my limit is a 4.5mm.
I'm going to try using a smoother, better quality yarn with a slightly tighter spin. Maybe that will help. And maybe the recommended needle size will be a bit smaller and that will help, too. It's gotta help. It has to be the yarn and the needles, right?
I'm off to raid my stash for the good stuff.
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