Get ready for the holidays with Interweave Knits Gifts!

Fleur-de-Lis and Cearnog Pincushions by Tammy Eigeman Thompson
Houndstooth Mittens by Lauren Osbourne
I-Cord Headband by Hana Jason with Short-Row Flowers by Katya Frankel
Fruit Basket Hats by Jennifer Samsell

	Lady Tea Towel by Courtney Kelley

A note from Kathleen: Every year I look forward to Interweave Knits Gifts. I actually use it to plan my gift-giving, and this year's issue has so many great ideas that I think I have more gift ideas than people to give them to!

There are so many beautiful patterns in this year's Gifts; I can't stop thinking about the darling pincushions (at left) and the beautiful lace cotton hand towel (at right). I love the idea of the towels in a guest bathroom; so decorative and useful! And the pincushions are so fabulous—I have several sewist friends who will absolutely love them.

Gifts has both small, quick-to-knit designs and larger, more complex designs—whatever your level of expertise and time available allows, you'll find something that suits the people on your list.

Interweave Knits Gifts is actually a gift itself; one you can give to yourself (and with so many patterns, it's truly the gift that keeps on giving). Here's Eunny Jang to preview the issue for you. Enjoy!

Interweave Knits Gifts 2010

This was the year of labors of love.

Rather, this was the year I dideverything the hard way. I handquilted every inch of a quilt for somejust-married friends. I canned a bushel each of tomatoes, peaches, and pears,and made all our own jams and jellies for the winter. I sewed dress shirts formy partner. We made croissants by hand—more than once. We built new beds forthe garden and took out hundreds of square feet of sod with shovels andtrowels.
 
I briefly entertained the idea of making sheets. That's whenwe knew I'd officially gone round the bend. Living a wholly handmade life isphilosophically pleasing, I suppose, but doing it without perspective doesn't workvery well with anything resembling normal human priorities.

I'm back to livinglife reasonably, making things once in a while with thought and care, ratherthan all the time just because.

I think every knitter understands the desire intimately, though—the idea that athing is worth making by hand. The reasons are never simple; sure, it might becheaper or easier to get exactly what you want if you make it yourself, but thereare also complex overlapping layers to being a maker. You're enjoying the process;you're learning something; you're rejecting disposable consumer culture; you'recommuning with generations of knitters before you; you're adding beauty to theworld with your own two hands.

Everyone's reasons are different. But we allknow that pure, elemental drive; the idea that something made with love has valueand meaning.

In this fifth issue of Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts, we'vecollected over sixty ideas for things to knit for and give to friends, family,and yourself. We've stocked the pages with everything from quick, simplebagatelles to intricate treasures for special folks—bright pops of color ("ManyHued"), knits for cozy spaces ("Handmade Home") lovelyvintage lace ("The Lacemaker") superwarm accessories ("Cozy 101"), fast knits in big yarns ("The Elements of Knitting"),mix-and-match projects to customize ("Metamorphoknit"), pretty toys("Child's Play"), and clever takes on classics ("Free-form Warm"). We've got ideas for crafting with yarn ("Knitspirations") andour annual gift roundup ("Gifts for Knitters"). Grab your needles and aspecial yarn and get inspired to knit, give, and get.

As for me and my year ofinconvenient living? It's going out in one final bang—I'm making a cyclingsweater for my partner, he of the 42-inch chest and extra-long torso.Jumperweight Shetland wool, size 3 needles, dark gray ribbing all over. It'sthe least interesting knitting imaginable. I'm very glad to be doing it.

A labor of love.

Check out the preview, get your copy of Interweave Knits Gifts, and get started on your own hand-crafted gifts for the ones you love.

Happyknitting and giving,

 

 

View the original article here

Knitting for Plus Sizes: How does proportion change from one size to the next?

If you’re a plus-sized knitter, you know that the size you need, in a sweater pattern, comes listed toward the end of the offered size range. I’m used to scanning to the end of the size listing, to see which measurements could work for me.

What we don’t always think about is how those sizes are larger than the others.

If we look at the Hawthorn Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman from the Fall issue of Interweave Knits, we see the offered sizes are as follows:

31 (36, 41, 46, 51)”

The only photo you see, however, is the sample we photographed on the model. This sample measured 36”. So how does the size 51” differ, in proportion, from the sample, and from the smallest size (31”) for that matter? What changes?

One of my favorite ways to get acquainted with a design and how it will relate to my own body is by drawing my own schematic. Get out some graph paper and a ruler and, following the measurements and general shape shown on the pattern schematic, draw a schematic to the scale of your chosen size. Below I show the schematic drawn to the scale of the size 31”, and then the size 51”. I used a scale of 2 graph-paper boxes = 1”, but you can use 1 box to 1” as well.

The pattern editor for a publication (that’s me for Interweave Knits) almost always draws the pattern schematic to the scale of the smallest size. The reason is fairly obvious—space is at a premium in print, so we provide a schematic that will take up the least space. But the proportions from one size to the next change, so drawing your own schematic is really helpful to see how your size will be different from the sample size. All the measurements for all sizes are listed on the pattern schematic, so you shouldn’t have to do any math.

I especially like to use this technique in designs with deep necklines, set-in sleeves, waist shaping, et cetera, to see where those elements will fall and how they measure up to the proportions of my body. Neckline placement can change drastically as a pattern is graded. For instance, in a deep V-neck pullover, it would help to read through the pattern—if the neck will be split at the underarm level for the sample size, where is split for a size 50”? At the same point, or below, or above the underarm? Where do you generally like to split the neck on your sweaters?

Drawing your own schematic, based on the pattern’s measurements and instructions for your chosen size, can tell you at a glance if the proportions are what you thought they would be (or not).

~ Lisa

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Why gauge swatching is more important than wraps per inch

Determining wraps per inch

Have you ever wondered why people worry about wraps per inch (wpi)? Me too. Some people use this method when they have two mystery yarns and they want to see if they're the same size (to use in a striped, gauge-buster vest or something like that). I can see wpi coming in handy in this sort of situation.

And spinners use the method a lot to get an idea of what weight their handspun yarn is, too. In fact, it was in the fall issue of Spin-Off magazine that I came across the article below, which got me thinking abut wraps per inch. I thought you might like to read it, too, so I've included some excerpts here.

The author is Amy Tyler, who was trained as a scientist and spent manyyears teaching research methods and statistics to physical therapy students. Althoughshe now works as a fiber artist, she still finds a systematic approach to comein handy.

What is "Wraps Per Inch"?
by Amy Tyler

I was first introduced to the wraps-per-inch method of measuring of yarn thickness at a workshop in 2003. I loved the workshop, but I was skeptical of this method from the get-go. The instructions for measuring reminded me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears—not too this . . . not too that . . . just right. With just right being in the eye of the beholder.

For example, here are the instructions from the Spring 2008 issue of Spin-Off: "Wrap a length of yarn around your gauge, packing to refusal, to determine the wraps per inch (wpi) of the yarn. Packing to refusal means that you push the strands together to fill the 1-inch groove, being sure not to stretch or smoosh the yarn as you wrap it, as this will distort your result. Strands should not overlap or gap. Then simply count the number of strands in the 1-inch groove to obtain wpi."

How could a measure with such ambiguous instructions be reliable? By reliable, I mean consistent and free from error (the definition common to many research designs and methods).

I recently attended a fiber arts retreat and I had the opportunity to carry out an informal study of the reliability of wraps per inch. I asked some of the fiber folks in attendance to help me and thirteen people agreed.

I gave each person a 3-by-5-inch index card printed with ¼-inch grid marks. I folded each card in thirds to make it a bit more sturdy. I then cut a notch in the card and used a pen to mark off 2 inches of the grid. I gave each person one of these cards. Then I gave the participants some basic instructions for wrapping a yarn around the card to measure wraps per inch. My instructions were essentially, "Wrap the yarn around the card, not too tight, not too loose, with wraps touching but not squished together. Wrap for 1 or 2 inches and then count the wraps in 1 inch."

I also gave each person long strands of yarn, one at a time. First, I handed out strands of Cascade 220. I asked everyone to calculate wraps per inch. When everyone had done so, I asked them to announce the measurement they'd gotten. I repeated this sequence with three more yarns: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, Rowan Magpie Aran, and Schaefer Yarn Anne.

Each person got the same yarn, the same measuring tool, and the same instructions. Yet the resulting measures of wpi varied quite a bit. And in the case of Cascade's 220, no one got the published measurement; all estimates were too high. It seems that measures of the thicker yarns (such as the Magpie Aran and the 220) were more off than those of the thinner yarns. Also, not all people were consistently high or consistently low in their estimates.

I concluded that wraps per inch is not a very reliable measure.

Some spinners may find wraps per inch helpful asan approximate measure, but it shouldn't be used as the only measure of yarnthickness for a spinning project. In the end, it's not the thickness of theyarn per se that's important. It is how the yarn works in the finished product.

For knitting, there is no better way to decide if you've got the rightthickness of yarn than to knit a gauge swatch. With that swatch, you can decidetwo very important things: Does the fabric behave as it should (drape, density,springiness)? And if you're following a pattern, are you getting the number ofstitches per inch and rows per inch that you need?

____________

Hear, hear on the gauge issue! Yet another reason why knitters should always make a gauge swatch—we need to know what gauge we're getting with our needles and our yarn. That's really the only way to end up with a sweater that actually fits.

The Pass-Through Scarf

I know, some of you have been lucky and have winged it and ended up with a well-fitting sweater, but there are many more of you who have winged it and ended up with a sweater that you had to give away or send to the frog pond, am I right?

I hope this article has shed some light on wraps per inch for you. I know it did for me.

Cheers,

P.S. Be sure and check out Spin-Off magazine for some really great knitting patterns, too, such as the Pass-Through Scarf by Kristi R. Schueler, shown at left. It's super cute.

View the original article here

An All-American County Fair

A note from Kathleen: Knitter extraordinaire and customer service representative Anna-Liza Armfield and her knitting group recently took the Boulder (Colorado) County Fair by storm, and she's here to tell us about it. Welcome, Anna-Liza!

Adventures at the Fair
by Anna-Liza Armfield

Last year, my friend, Simone, went to the Boulder County Fair, and was disappointed with how few entries there were in the knitting category. She started an understated campaign to get more people to enter. As a result, four of our knitting group, the (Mostly) Harmless Knitters [(M)HKs for short], entered the 2010 Boulder County Fair.

All of us won something.

Marlene (below) won a 3rd place ribbon in items taking more than 45 hours to knit and a 2nd place ribbon in lace knitting. Yes, those items she's pointing at are her prize-winners. (The turquoise-and-brown shawl behind her is my 2nd-place-winning entry, and the green pullover at the top is my 3rd-place winner).



Simone (below) won 3rd place in items taking more than 45 hours to knit with this baby blanket.



Samantha (below) won 2nd place in hats, 1st place in items taking more than 45 hours to knit (the hoodie you see there), and also was awarded the Champion ribbon in knitting for the hoodie. She was also awarded 1st and 2nd place ribbons and the Championship in baking. As a result, the (M)HKs voted her our Domestic Goddess for 2010 ... and, most likely, in perpetuity.



I won 2nd place in lace knitting (tying Marlene) and both 3rd and 1st place in shaped knitting. That last category included socks and a pullover, so I guess "shaped knitting" is a reasonable title. That's me with my first-place socks, below.



The (M)HKs are quite diverse. Samantha is from South Africa, Marlene is from Canada, and Simone is from Australia. Samantha and Marlene had been sworn in as US citizens shortly before the County Fair awards were announced, and Simone was sworn in on Wednesday! I am the only native-born citizen among the four, and my mother is from the Philippines. (Other (M)HKs are native-born citizens, just not in the group that entered the Fair).

After we found out about the awards, Marlene said, "I feel so American!"

(Mostly) Harmless Knitters ROCK! Now, we'll just have to see what we can do next year!

View the original article here

A Lace Knitting Challenge

Maikell Shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia

I have a friend who knits the most beautiful lace shawls. One day I asked her where she wore them, and she said "Oh, wherever—usually to Alberson's and Costco, actually, because I don't go anywhere fancy." I loved that answer so much—what a great attitude. Another friend who's a beader employs the same philosophy: she wears her creations with dresses and sweatpants alike.

One of the reasons I've never attempted a lace shawl is for the very reason that I think I have nowhere to wear it, so I'm going to adopt my friends' attitudes and go for it!

My very favorite lace patterns are the Haapsalu lace knitting designs from Estonia, presented in Nancy Bush's wonderful book Knitted Lace of Estonia.

Normally, I wouldn't tackle this type of lace project because it just looks too hard—I've knit plenty of lace scarves and a couple of sweaters, but never an Estonian lace project. (And I've never knitted with actual lace-weight yarn alone—it seems so fragile!) But the new edition of Knitted Lace of Estonia contains a DVD (also sold separately), which really demystifies Estonian lace! And the yarn is tougher than I though, too.

As I was watching I kept thinking, "I can do that. That's not so hard. Oh, that's how you do that!" Nancy is a world-renowned teacher, and I can see why. She's got such a calm presence; it's obvious she's both a master knitter and a master teacher.

Now I know that Estonian lace isn't too hard for me, and I'll bet it's not too hard for you, either! I'm going to challenge myself to knit the Maikell Shawl, at left. I think this could be the project that keeps me company all fall and winter as I work on it between sweater projects.

It's made with the traditional Haapsalu construction method—the stitches for the center panel are cast on and worked to the desired length, then the stitches are bound off on the wrong side. The lace edge is then knitted in two parts, each of which is sewn separately onto the center panel. Nancy used a shawl she purchased in Haapsalu as her inspiration for this shawl design; to learn the details of this type of construction, she had many lessons during her visits to Estonia.

Even though it's a big project when it's done and blocked, as I'm working on it the shawl can be scrunched down into a little project bag and carried on my wrist—just like the knitters in Haapsalu do! In fact, lace shawl knitters say that the finest shawls can be passed through a wedding ring when they're finished. Now that's an exquisitely  fine shawl!

Instead of me blathering on and on about Knitted Lace of Estonia and the new DVD lesson, here's Nancy herself!



Want to join me in my challenge?Just choose a project from Knitted Lace of Estonia and get started!

Cheers,

View the original article here

New Preview: Interweave Knits Weekend!

The Olivier Pullover by Coralie Meslin

	Eliza Pullover
	Chesapeake Pullover
	Mariner Pullover

A note from Kathleen: I get slightly giddy on Thursday nights, knowing the next day is Friday and then it's the weekend. And top on my list of weekend to-dos is always something knitting related!

Whether it's meeting my buddies at a cafe for some Saturday knitting, checking out the new goods at my LYS, or just hanging out on my couch with my knitting and a movie—weekend knitting is a favorite pastime.

What's made it even better lately is the new issue of Interweave Knits Weekend, which will be available on September 22nd. (I'm lucky enough to have an advance copy!)

The Olivier Pullover at left is what immediately caught my eye. The shawl collar and the cable pattern go so perfectly with the tweed yarn, and I think the long section of ribbing at the waist is really flattering.

I haven't knit with tweed for awhile and it's so quintessentially fall—as is this pullover! I've been doing so many cardigans lately; Olivier is just calling my name.

To tell you even more about Knits Weekend, here's editor Eunny Jang!

What are you doingthis weekend?

I'm heading to the farmers market, canning tomatoes, running some errands, andspending time with my partner, who's just gotten back from a long trip. In arare break, I have no photoshoots or press days looming—not in the coming week,anyway—and I fully intend to squeeze every drop of calm out of the hoursbetween Friday evening and Monday morning.

In my search for serenity outside of working hours, I find myself drawn toknitting that feels fresh, unfussy, straightforward. I'm thinking about theclassics——boyfriend sweaters you want to live in; rustic cables that look rightwith a pencil skirt or paddock boots; comfortableknits that look and feel good on everyone.

With that in mind, we've filled the pages of this special Weekend issue of InterweaveKnits with just that kind of knitting: Soft textures for spring; simpleknits to beat the heat; fiber-focused projects for fall; and cozy, densefabrics for cold weather.

With an eye toward how we really dress, we'veincluded lots of projects meant for layering and trans-seasonal dressing.

Andwe've made sure to include plenty of knits for men, kids, and the home.

Simple, classic, good knitting for all year long—casual knits for fun onweekend days, and every other day too.

We've highlighted some of our favorites here—the Eliza Pullover by Alison Green Will is trimmed with beautiful cables, the Chesapeake Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman is a great beach sweater, and the Mariner Pullover by Hannah Fettig that comes sized from baby to adult! Be sure to check out the preview to see the rest!

Have a great weekend with Interweave Knits Weekend.

View the original article here

It's the Fall 2010 Interweave Knits Galleries!

My knitting friends (and gallery gals) enjoying wine, nibbles, and knitting after the big photo shoot.

My knitting group got together in my back yard last week to help me with the fall 2010 Interweave Knits galleries.

It was a sweltering 90-degree evening and my friends were such troopers to try on fall sweaters in that sort of weather. I even had a fan on outside to provide some "fresh air!"

Each time I do these galleries I love the sweaters more, and this time all of them were again beautiful, and more than that, most of them fit many body types and were flattering to boot. Bonus!



The Gallery Sweaters

	Breacan Swing Coat		Chiral Cardigan
	Cloisonne Jacket		Leyfi Pullover

Interweave Knits editor Eunny Jang and I chose these sweaters because they're beautiful, wearable, and knittable!

You'll find fair isle knitting here (Cloissone Jacket), knit cardigan sweaters (Chiral Cardigan, Choissone Jacket), a knitted coat (the Breacan Swing), and a pullover (Leyfi Pullover). There's something for everyone, as always in Interweave Knits.

We have a new model this time: Jamie! She's a small gal, so I hope you tiny people can relate to her in the sweaters.

We had such a good time—there was sort of an assembly line to try on the hand knitted sweaters—we did it really fast because it was too hot to have any of the sweaters on for more than a minute!

The Cloissone Jacket and the Chiral Cardigan were the favorites, but not by much.

So now, without further ado, here are the galleries!

Cheers,

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It's Football Season! (Not to mention knitting season...)

I love a good chuckle, especially when it really hits home, like this cartoon from Franklin Habit's Stash of Knitting Cartoons 2011 Calendar.

I'm a football coach's daughter and a football player's sister—my dad coached high school and college football for years and my brother started playing in a Pop Warner league and ended playing pro ball in Sweden.

I've probably been to about a thousand football games in my life, and I've enjoyed almost all of them. (Um ... I think I might be the person they're talking about in the cartoon!)

The other day I drove by one of the high schools here in Spokane and saw the kids practicing. I got a little giddy! Plus, there's that chill in the air, which when paired with sunny days screams "Football Weather!!" I already have tickets to the Oregon game at my alma mater, Washington State University—Go Cougs—maybe this'll be our year!

But the best thing about football season is that it coincides with knitting season, which puts me in absolute heaven!

	The Cubley kids (l to r: me, my sister Liz, and my brother Jeff) with one of my dad's WSU players in 1973. I think my mom made that dress!

Call me crazy, but there are so many similarities between football and knitting, not the least of which is the groups of people that gather to watch a game and knit. I know that there are many, many knitters besides me who like to knit while watching football—there are several of us who finished a knit-along project because of last year's NFL playoffs—so much knitting to do + so many football games to watch = lots of finished objects!

Ravelry has the Ravelympics,and I think Knitting Daily should have Knit-Ball Season! Let's knit and watch our games and see how many projects we can get finished this fall.

I'm going to announce the new knit-along poll on 9/13, and we can make the chosen design our Knit-Ball project! Who's with me?

In the meantime, keep track of your football games and your knitting with the hilarious Franklin Habit's Stash of Knitting Cartoons 2011 Calendar.

Cheers,

View the original article here