Archive for April, 2011

Apr 28

From the top down (+ a giveaway!)

One of the most amazing things about being a knitter in the early 21st century is the vast array of resources, patterns and (of course) yarn available. It can be a bit overwhelming, honestly. But I feel lucky to be a knitter right now, because I have so many choices when it comes to finding great things to make. The Internet has become a knitter’s best friend — a place to discover new designers and new patterns; to get feedback from other knitters; and to become inspired by the amazing work of a world of knitters.

(Note: I’m going to chat for a bit, but just in case I lose you, don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post!)

I found Elizabeth Smith’s website, The Brown Stitch, on one of my many pattern-finding forays on the Internet. I had set a New Year’s resolution to knit a sweater for myself (my first!), and I was desperately searching for a pattern that would fit my many criteria: cardigan, not too fancy, but not too boring, worsted weight or chunky yarn, and maybe a hood. A tall order? Given the number of patterns on the web and in shops these days, not really. I don’t remember what path exactly led me to Elizabeth, but I think I saw her free girl’s pattern, Audrey’s First Day, and bookmarked it for my daughter.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Smith

But anyway … I found Elizabeth’s site, and I knew I was in the right place. Almost every one of her patterns appealed to me, and one — Common Ground — was absolutely perfect. It was the kind of sweater I wear almost daily in the winter, had a few details to keep it interesting and was knit in one of my favorite chunky yarns, Cascade’s Ecological Wool. I cast on, and a few short weeks later, I had a sweater that I wore several times a week until just recently. (That’s Elizabeth’s sweater at right, but mine is knit out of the same yarn in the same color. What can I say, I liked hers?! Mine is a bit longer, and I added some pretty wooden buttons on the front.)

Most of Elizabeth’s patterns are knit top-down. Certainly it’s not fair to say that’s a brand-new technique, but I think it’s true that it’s become more and more popular with the surge of independent designers. I don’t know if everyone is familiar with the technique, so I’ll explain briefly: Basically, you cast on stitches for the neck and place markers to separate the sleeves, front and back. (This can be done for a cardigan or a pullover.) You increase at the markers until the yoke is the right size to fit around your shoulders. Then you put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and continue to knit the body. (If you’re having trouble envisioning this, visit Elizabeth’s tutorial on the subject.) Later, you come back and knit the sleeves to your desired length, usually on double-pointed needles. You might also go back and add details, like button bands or a hood.

There are tons of benefits to this method, the hugest of which is that you can try on the garment as you go. You can tweak the shoulder circumference or the length of the sweater to make it fit you perfectly. When you make a sweater in pieces, it’s harder to do that. Also, if you’re like me and hate finishing, this method eliminates almost all of the seaming. On my Common Ground, the only seams were a few stitches under the arms, and the top of the hood. Of course, there are disadvantages to this technique too; chief among them, you lose a bit of the stability of seamed pieces, especially sleeves.

My version of Wonder Years

After I finished Common Ground, I almost immediately cast on for another of Elizabeth’s patterns, Wonder Years, for my 6-year-old. It was knit almost the same way, and came out beautifully. Most importantly, my son loves it, so I was happy. Now, I’m knitting one of Elizabeth’s newest patterns, Abbi, which is a really cute shawl-collar cardigan vest. It’s knit in bulky yarn, so I’ve only been knitting it for a few hours, and I’m already past the underarm divide. Gotta love that. I also plan to go back and knit Elizabeth’s little-girl cardigan, Audrey’s First Day. But my 3-year-old doesn’t seem to like to wear anything I knit for her, so it might be for my niece, who is more appreciative of my knits.

If you’ve never tried a top-down sweater before, I encourage you to try one of Elizabeth’s free patterns, which include several very cute baby/kid sweaters. She’s also got a great adult sweater, Mud Season, which is knit out of bulky yarn, but has short sleeves. I can see myself wearing this over a long-sleeve T-shirt when the weather starts to get crisp this fall.

So go try Elizabeth’s free patterns, but there’s more! Elizabeth has graciously agreed to give away one of her premium patterns to a Knit and Stitcher! You choose the pattern, and she’ll e-mail you a PDF of the pattern or put it in your Ravelry library. Let’s make this easy, since we haven’t had a giveaway in a while — just leave a comment on this blog post, and I’ll choose a winner on Monday around noon. Don’t forget to leave an e-mail address or Ravelry ID so I can find you if you win. Good luck!

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Posted in Chat, Patterns, Techniques

Apr 25

Back in the saddle

PHEW! What a busy spring it’s been at Knit and Stitch. The Metro Yarn Crawl rolled through, and boy, was it a good time. Tons of happy knitters and crocheters visited our shop (and nine others) for 10 days of discounts and general yarn love. It was great to meet some new folks and show them around our shop. Plus, on April 10, we had a wonderful celebration of the shop’s 10th anniversary. Thanks so much to everyone who came by with warm wishes — it’s been a great decade, and we’re looking ahead to even more fiber fun.

Anyway, with all the excitement IN the shop, I’m afraid this poor blog has been neglected. Let’s remedy that, shall we? …

To keep me accountable, here are a few topics I’ll be writing about over the next few weeks. Anything else you’d like to chat about? I’d be interested to know what your knitting/crochet life is like when the weather warms up. Do you put away the fiber for a while? Switch to smaller, lighter projects and yarns? Or just plow ahead with the same projects you stitch when it’s snowing outside? That final option describes me, so you’re just as likely to see me talking about sweaters in July as you are in December. But if you’re putting away the wool and pulling out the cotton, let me know. I want to be sure the blog reflects what everyone is doing. Anyway, in the coming weeks, I’m planning to write about:

  • Steeking! That’s cutting your knitting, folks. I have a sweater that I’m about to steek, so I thought I’d take you with me on that journey. The sweater is currently pinned to my blocking station (i.e. guest bed), so when it’s dry later this week, I will pull out my scissors and take photos of the process.
  • Color. In several of the classes I’ve taught at the shop recently, we’ve ended up talking a lot about color. This is one of my favorite topics, and one of my favorite things about fiber arts.
  • Top-down sweaters. I told you — I can talk about sweater knitting even when it’s 80 degrees outside. I thought we’d chat about top-down sweater construction: the ins and outs, the pros and cons. And there’s a related giveaway. :)

Those of you who have stopped by the shop recently have picked up our new Frequent Shopper Card. If you haven’t got one yet, visit us soon. This is a special promotion just for our 10th anniversary year, so it ends Dec. 31. You’ll get a stamp for every $25 you spend in the shop. And when you hit $250, you’ll receive $10 in “stash cash” — that’s $10 to spend on whatever you like. Our way of saying thank you for 10 great years.

A WIDER CIRCLE

We had a wonderful knit night a few weeks ago to benefit A Wider Circle and its Well Mother, Well Baby program. We’ll be planning more nights in the future, but in the meantime, we’ve got a basket in the shop for you to drop off baby items. Read more here about what we’re doing with A Wider Circle. We’ve also got some fliers in the shop with more information about the group and what they need, so be sure to pick one up. And if you can’t knit anything right now, consider donating a skein or two to the project — washable wool and other easy-care fibers are preferred, but whatever you can contribute is wonderful.

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Posted in Chat, Metro Yarn Crawl

Apr 08

From us to you … to them

I hope you could tell from the last post that everyone at Knit and Stitch is excited to work with A Wider Circle and its Well Mother, Well Baby project. As Lauren told us, part of the group’s mission is to show the mothers in the program that their communities care about them and their children. So I thought it might be nice for us to add tags to our handmade items to give them a personal touch. After all, what mother doesn’t appreciate that someone spent hours (days? weeks?) of her life creating something special for a new baby?

I created some simple gift tags that you can download, cut out and attach to your handmade items. There are six different styles just right for baby and child items. (The robot is my favorite.) There’s space for your name (first name is fine; consider adding your city too), as well as a spot to include information about the materials you used and the care instructions. Easy-care yarns are a great choice, since many of these mothers don’t have the time or resources for a lot of hand-washing. Washable wool is wonderful — take a look at Cascade 128 or Cascade 220 Sport next time you’re in the shop. Both are superwash yarns, and come in wonderful colors for kids and babies. But no matter what you use, providing clear care instructions will ensure that your handmade item is treasured for years to come.

Click here to download the tags as a PDF. And of course, feel free to use them on other gifts you make as well.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday evening at 6:30!

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Posted in Events

Apr 08

Crafting for our neighbors in need

I’ll be the first to admit, I love to knit for myself. It’s a lovely feeling to put on a sweater you’ve knit yourself, or slip on a pair of made-by-you socks. But honestly, I love to knit for other people even more. There’s something about seeing a loved one wearing an item I’ve made that just makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

And that feeling is multiplied by a thousand when I knit or crochet for someone who really needs it. Which is why I’m thrilled that Knit and Stitch is partnering with A Wider Circle, a wonderful organization that helps members of our own community who are going through tough times.

On Monday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m., we’ll kick off our project with A Wider Circle by knitting and crocheting hats for babies and kids. Lauren Snow, the director of education for A Wider Circle, will join us to talk about the group and the people they help. We’ll meet throughout the year to knit and crochet for our neighbors in need, and you can always drop off your handmade items at the shop in between our charity knit nights.

I asked Lauren a few questions about the group and what they need, so that we can all refer back to this information any time. And at the bottom of this post, there’s a bit more info about Monday’s event and how you can join in.

Q: Tell us briefly about A Wider Circle and the people you help.

A Wider Circle is a 501(c)(3) grassroots nonprofit organization that provides holistic support to families in need.  What this means is that we furnish the homes of children and adults who are transitioning out of domestic violence or homeless shelters, or who are simply living without what most of us take for granted – beds, dressers, sheets, towels, and other basic need items.  We also provide educational programs on topics ranging from job skills and money management to stress management and other life skills. One of our main education programs is Well Mother, Well Baby, which provides comprehensive information and support to pregnant and parenting teenagers through a class series, graduation baby shower, and mentorship program. We hope to prepare these teenagers for a healthy pregnancy and birth, teach them positive parenting skills, and encourage them to pursue education and employment.

Q: How can Knit and Stitch knitters and crocheters use their talents to help?

Knit and Stitch can help in a variety of ways. As mentioned above, at the end of each Well Mother, Well Baby class series we hold a class baby shower where we provide each student with many of the things needed to begin parenthood, such as a pack n play, changing table, car seat, stroller, diaper, clothes, etc. We are always collecting new and used donations of these baby items — so that would be one way to get involved. The unique way that folks from Knit and Stitch can help is by creating handmade baby items – these always make the baby showers more special because it communicates how much we care about each individual student and baby. Knit or crocheted blankets, hats, booties, or even sweaters in newborn, infant, and toddler sizes would be much appreciated! In addition to traditional boy and girl colors, we always need gender neutral colors for mothers who don’t yet know their baby’s gender.

Q: How are items distributed to your clients? What kind of feedback have you gotten from them?

We create baskets of smaller items, such as diapers, blankets, clothes, pacifiers, and socks to bring to each student on the day of the baby shower. Larger items such as strollers, pack n plays, car seats, swings, andchanging tables are picked up by the students at our center. We usually display all of the donations in a large room and allow the girls and their families to “shop” for items that they need.

The students are always grateful and relieved when they receive these items. Almost all of them have a hard time making ends meet, and baby items are incredibly expensive. Just like any other new mother, these teenagers want to give their babies everything they need, and community support helps make this possible.

Q: Besides contributing handmade items, how else can Knit and Stitchers help? What kinds of items do you need most right now? What is the best way for people to get items to you?

Knit and Stitchers can get involved with A Wider Circle by volunteering at our Center for Community Service, participating in one of our monthly drives (In April, we are collecting personal care items), or making either a furniture or financial donation. See the online wish list for a list of items that are especially needed.

The Well Mother, Well Baby program is also always recruiting experienced mothers to serve as facilitators and mentors. There may even be a way to combine knitting and mentoring! During one of our recent stress management classes, I mentioned to a group of students that I knit to relieve stress and every single girl expressed an interest in learning how to knit so that she could make baby items!

We also need help gathering items for the class baby showers. You can help with this by donating your gently used stroller or car seat, purchasing new items off of our wish list, or hosting a community baby shower or baby item drive – please visit www.awidercircle.org or email lauren@awidercircle.org for more details.

Items can be dropped off seven days a week at our Center for Community Service:

9159-C Brookville Rd, Silver Spring 20910, Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m, and Sunday 12 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Thank you so much for your interest in supporting the Well Mother, Well Baby Program. Everyone at A Wider Circle is happy about partnering with Knit and Stitch in support of some of our most vulnerable neighbors – young mothers and their children.

FOR MONDAY’S EVENT

Please join us on Monday at 6:30 to hear more from Lauren and to knit a bit for A Wider Circle’s clients. Bring washable wool (or other easy-care yarn) from your stash or buy yarn for the project at 30 percent off. We’ll provide some easy hat patterns, so all you need are needles or a hook appropriately sized for your yarn. If you have a favorite hat pattern to share with others, please bring that as well. And we encourage you to make room in your stash by donating some washable wool or other easy-care yarn for this project. You can bring it Monday night or drop it off any time.

We can’t wait to kick off this project!

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Posted in Events