Cheat Sheet

Posted by Jessa on January 31, 2012 / 1 Comment

You only have to walk into a knit-night that you’ve never attend before and receive the warm welcome that knitters are known for to realize that knitters are a special breed of person. For the most part, we’re inclusive and gregarious (and maybe a little bit OCD). Another adjective I’d include in that list is generous.

For example, the very talented designer Derya Davenport from Laylock offered up this gem to the knitting community over the summer: A FREE cheat sheet of shawl shapes. She is constantly updating Laylock with patterns, tips, tutorials and more. Definitely add her site to your reading list!

A Knitterly Confession + Color Consultation

Posted by Jessa on January 29, 2012 / 4 Comments

Ok Knitters. I’ve struggled with this, and I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m just gonna get it out in the open now: I have never knit a pair of socks *hides face*.

I’ve always had this feeling that until I finish a pair (or come on, at least ONE sock) I’m something less of a knitter than I should be. I’m sure many of you can relate to my reluctance to go ahead and commit to a pair of socks as a project (you have to knit two of them – and they’re supposed to be the same? and heavens above, those tiny, tiny needles). I try and reassure myself when this gaping hole in my knitting portfolio comes up. I’ve knit oodles of lace! Cardigans and sweaters, baby and adult sizes! I have plenty of fibrous accomplishments! But there nagging in the back of my mind whenever it comes up, is the glaring fact that socks sort of epitomize the knitter’s trade.

Enter the Magical Quiddich Socks by Jennifer Dassau. Now, if any sock pattern is going to catch my attention, it has to be something special (for example, something Harry Potter related). And Knitters, I think this is the one. Melinda sent me an email sharing this suggestion from Liz, a customer at the store, and what can I say except for it’s love at first sight.

Here’s Melinda’s Quidditch swatch using Tosh Sock in Wicked and Winter Wheat. A pretty magickal combo, right? The nice thing about this 2-color pattern is that it looks tricky, but it is all created with slipped stitches that pull the secondary color up into the main color rows.

You might recall last summer when Melinda pulled a variety of color combinations for the uber-talented Stephen West’s Creekbed Scarf. Considering how much our customers appreciated that post, and the oodles of Tosh Sock we just got back in stock, Melinda is at it again, this time with the Magical Quiddich Socks in mind.

Below are just a few color combination suggestions pulled from our Magickal Quidditch Sock gallery on Flickr, so make sure to go over there and find your favorite and come back and let us know your pick! There’s everything from tone-on-tone and traditional contrasting to bold pairs.

Wicked & Winter Wheat

Brothers Grimm & Grasshopper

Antler & Porcelain

Happiness & Manor

Cloak & Tart

Byzantine & Rosewood

Filigree & Nebula

Chamomile & Happiness

Flashdance & Mineral

Trick of the Trade: Charting out lace patterns

Posted by Jessa on January 25, 2012 / 2 Comments

If you’re like me, you can not get enough charts when it comes to knitting lace. I was SO frustrated with lace knitting, and intimidated by charts, before I took the time to actually learn to use them. Now I’m a complete convert, and when I come across a pattern that doesn’t have charted lace patterns, it’s almost enough to turn me away.

Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’m currently working on the Burnished Leaves cowl by Chrissy Prange. I love the pattern, it’s a pretty but simple lace repeat (plus it’s free!), but the instructions are written rather than charted. Simple solution: chart the pattern myself. If you got one of the Happy Knits scout books either online or from the shop, that’s a great thing to use, or you could also pick up a pad of graph paper at the office supply store. Remember, charts are read in the same way you knit, from right to left and bottom to top.

Some tips for hand-charting instructions:
1. Count how many stitches are in each row, and how many rows are in each repeat, then block out that many squares on your sheet of paper.
2. Draw yourself a key, so you don’t have to refer back to your pattern every time you’ve set down your project.
3. Number the rows to correspond with the written pattern (especially if you skip the plain knit/purl rows in between pattern rows) so it’s easier to keep track of where you’re at if you need to double check the original instructions.