Tagged: tools

Feb 04

A Fair Isle February giveaway!

Welcome to Fair Isle February! I always love a good theme, and I also can’t pass up a good alliteration, so Fair Isle February it is. This month, I’ll give you some tips about colorwork knitting (including a discussion of the terms “fair isle” and “stranded colorwork”), share some favorite patterns, and host a few giveaways. If learning colorwork is on your knitting to-do list, be sure to keep an eye out for lots of encouragement this month.

I want to get right to the first giveaway (!), but quickly, let me tell you about a few classes that we’re offering in the shop this month to get your colorwork juices flowing:

  • Endpaper Mitts: In this class, Joanna will help you knit Eunny Jang’s famous Endpaper Mitts, a pair of colorwork fingerless mitts that can be worked in endless color combinations. These are absolutely gorgeous mitts, and a good way to learn both colorwork and double-pointed needles. This class starts next week, so call the shop to register now! (Monday, Feb. 7 and 14, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.)
  • Stranded Colorwork workshop: If you’re looking for a quick way to dive in to colorwork knitting, try our one-session workshop on Sunday, Feb. 27 (10 a.m. to noon). This is a low-stress way to try out the technique — you’ll learn different ways to carry your yarns, how to manage floats and more.

See those mittens in the photo above? They’re the Girdwood Mittens by Mandy Powers. And as soon as I saw the pattern, I knew I wanted to make it a part of Fair Isle February. Mandy’s stranded colorwork patterns are a wonderful entree into this technique, because they are well-written, straightforward, intuitive, and of course, beautiful! This is a particularly special pattern, because it includes sizes from newborn to adult large. You change the size of the mitten by changing the size of your yarn and needles — fingering-weight yarn for baby mittens, all the way up to bulky yarn for large adult mittens. It’s genius. I whipped out that adult mitten in the photo in just a day — I am totally in love with it. And as you can see, I’ve started the second one, so I hope to have a pair very soon.

You know how sometimes you come across a technique or tool that seems to improve your knitting immediately? Well, I’m pleased to say I’ve discovered TWO while knitting this pattern. The first is the i-cord cast-on (see a close-up photo at right). I know the Latvian braid is a hot technique for mittens and hats right now, but I have to say, I like the i-cord cast-on better. It’s so nice and tidy, prevents curling, and is easy to do once you get the hang of it. (I referenced this tutorial to get me started.) I am already itching to use it on another pattern. The second revolutionary knitting helper I discovered really has nothing to do with this pattern at all. I just happened to find it on the day I cast on! See that yellow strip in the photo above? That’s Post-It Label Roll, and it is the best thing that ever happened to me (knitterly speaking, anyway). If you knit from charts for lace or colorwork, you MUST find this stuff. It’s basically a long roll of Post-It tape — an inch wide and 700 inches in a roll (!). I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been able to find the perfect way to keep my place in a chart. I even bought a fancy magnetic chart holder, but the magnets never wanted to stay where I put them, and they cast a shadow over other parts of the chart. This is the perfect solution: It stays exactly where I put it (the entire back side is sticky), and is completely unobtrusive. I thought I’d need to replace it several times throughout the pattern, but one piece lasted me all the way through one mitten chart. I should tell you that this stuff was not easy to find. I saw it mentioned on Ravelry last year, and have been looking for it ever since. Anywhere I go that sells Post-Its, I look. Finally, this week, I happened to be in Staples, walking past the file folders, and there it was. Not in the giant aisle of Post-It products, mind you. Ugh. You can also find it on Amazon, though it was cheaper at Staples. And next time I go, I’m buying enough for the rest of my knitting life.

Back to the giveaway: Mandy has generously offered to give away a copy of the Girdwood pattern to one Knit and Stitcher! So here’s what we’ll do — leave a comment on this blog post telling me the tip, technique or tool that revolutionized your knitting. It doesn’t have to be fancy — sometimes it’s the simple things that turn out to be lifesavers (see above!). I’m going to make this a short giveaway, because I have several other fun giveaways planned this month. So I’ll close the comments and randomly choose a winner at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Mandy has nicely offered to send the PDF to the winner, or put it right in your Ravelry library, if you’re a member. Don’t forget to leave your e-mail address and/or Ravelry name with your comment so I can find you if you win. Good luck!!

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Posted in Classes, Patterns, Techniques, Tools, Workshops

Jan 08

A note on notions

Every January, many of us resolve to organize our lives. And this year, I decided my knitting and crochet supplies were no exception. In the interest of actually accomplishing something, I decided NOT to start with my yarn stash, but with my notions. While not as overwhelmingly out-of-control as my yarn, they were definitely in need of some attention. So I emptied everything from the — ahem — Ziploc bag where I kept them, and took inventory.

I did quite a bit of weeding, based on what I use most. And once everything was spread out on the table, I thought it might be useful to snap a photo so I could talk about my knitting tools. During a recent class I taught, I thought it was interesting to hear what everyone’s favorite notions and tools were. We all have different gadgets that we use for different tasks (some for the tasks they were intended for, and some not so much). At Knit and Stitch, we’ve got tons of really interesting notions and tools. Next time you’re browsing, be sure to visit our notions wall and see what you can add to your toolkit.

Here, in no particular order, is what’s in my newly reorganized notions case. What am I missing? Leave a comment and let me know your favorite knitting and crochet tools.

1. Tiny tool case: This is the little box where I keep my tiniest notions — needles, stitch markers and such. It’s very similar (though not quite as awesome) as the Perfect Notions Case that we carry at the shop. The hinge on one compartment of my case is about to give out, and when it does, I’ll be investing in one of those.

2. Stitch markers: As you can see, I travel with all shapes and sizes. Sadly, that is because stitch markers seem to be almost disposable for me; I can’t seem to hang on to them. I am always losing them between couch cushions, on the Metro, etc. For that reason, I have LOTS. Also because some projects require quite a few — the hat I’m knitting now requires eight to mark the repeats in its chevron pattern. I always have a few removable markers (that’s the one that looks like a little spiral), which I use for crochet projects or to mark the right side of my knitting. The black one in the photo is part of a set of sock and lace markers we sell at the shop. The one in the photo is the LARGEST in the package!

3. Point protectors: I’m not fastidious about using these (though maybe I should be), but I always carry a few. They are really the best way from keeping stitches from escaping off the ends of your needles.

4. Blocking pins: I have a huge pincushion of these that lives near my blocking station (i.e. guest bed), but I always carry a few in my tiny tool case. They’re nice and long, and good for pinning on embellishments (flowers, etc.) that I need to stitch on. I try to avoid seaming, but when I do, I use these to pin pieces together, or pin arms and legs on bodies when I’m seaming toys.

5. Yarn needle: So many purposes — weaving in ends; sewing on pompoms, tassels, etc.; seaming; sewing on large buttons …

6. Safety pins: As you can see, I carry a few sizes. The small ones are good as stitch markers or to pin pieces together for seaming. The large ones are my favorite stitch holders for small projects — they are just right for holding the thumb stitches for a mitten. Also good for threading a drawstring through a waistband.

7. Scissors: I’m not sure where they are at the moment, but I usually also carry a small pair of baby nail clippers, which is what I use for any airplane knitting projects. Just in case.

8. Tape measure: I always carry a tape measure, but recently I’ve also started using a new trick: When I’m working on a pattern that requires precise measurement (socks, for example), I create a small ruler on the edge of the pattern printout. I might mark every inch, but sometimes I might just mark the pertinent measurements (7 inches for a sock leg or 2 inches for a heel flap). That way, if I need to grab a project quickly, I know that if I have the pattern with me, I’ll have a ruler. (Also good to know: a standard-sized business card is 2 inches by 3.5 inches. So if you have one handy, you’ll always have a ruler).

9. Needle gauge: Recently it seems like I’ve been buying a lot of needles that aren’t marked with the size (and the markings have worn off some of my older needles). So I carry this gauge just to make sure I’m using the correct needle size.

10. Crochet hooks: I crochet, so I carry my favorite sizes for “just in case” moments. But I also use these to pick up dropped stitches, or occasionally to pick up stitches along a tight edge.

11. Size 7 16-inch circular needle: I knit a lot of hats, so I carry my all-time favorite needles — a set of size 7 16-inch Addis. I love them very much. I think I carry them so that I know where they are at all times.

12. Scrap yarn: I always carry a small length of scrap yarn in my toolkit. Recently I’ve been knitting a lot of mittens, so I might use this to hold the thumb stitches while I finish the mitten. I switch it out when it starts to look tired and sad.

I have quite a few other gadgets that are stashed in my craft room, but these are the things that travel in my knitting bag. And if I was forced to whittle down my supplies (gasp!), these would be my picks. What are your favorite tool and notions? Maybe I need to add to my stash …

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Posted in Chat, Tools