Arenda Holladay

It has been a busy week.  I had to work on the homework assignments for the retreat at the Grand Hotel in Lake Mackinac in May.  Registration goes live on January 17th.  I will be teaching a two-day course on finishing.  Nobody really likes to finish their knitwear but lousy finishing can ruin even the most beautifully knit item.  I hated finishing until I learned how to do it correctly.  Now I like it.  There will be a lot of homework but the students will have a complete reference work on finishing (complete with samples) when the course is over.  I am encouraging students to bring actual projects to finish during the last 3 hours of class.   Here's a link for information about the retreat.

STUDENT NEWS
Since the holidays are finally over, I am getting more lessons to review.  Keep up the great work!  I generally get the reviewed lessons in the mail the day after I receive them. 

I now have all of the course materials in my Drop Box.  I am happy to send links to the lessons to all current and former students.  Just send me your email address.  I know many of you probably only have hard copies. 

TIP OF THE WEEK--SEED STITCH TENSION
Lesson 3 of the Basics class and Level 1 of the Masters program require a seed stitch swatch.  Frequently this swatch has to be redone to fix tension problems.  Seed stitch should produce a dense fabric without holes between the stitches.  Holes occur  when yarn is not brought forward tightly when changing from a knit to purl stitch.  Sound familiar?  This is the same reason for sloppy ribbing.   The solution is the same as well.

The same needle size and yarn were used for all of these 12-stitch swatches.

The swatch in the center shows seed stitch where the yarn has not been brought forward tightly.  Notice the holes?  Seed stitch should not look like lace. 

There are no holes between the stitches in the swatch at the bottom since I pulled the yarn forward very tightly before each purl stitch. 

Why did I include the swatch at the top?  I want you to see the difference in the sizes (or gauge) of each of the swatches.  If you are working seed stitch for the Masters Program you will most likely be asked to resubmit the seed stitch if it looks like the center swatch.  Should you redo it if there are a hole or two?  No! Always remember it is HAND KNITTING, not machine knitting.  Some variation and imperfections are expected.

To see a video on working seed stitch: Seed Stitch Video

CURRENT PROJECTS

I finished the skirt last Saturday and blocked it.  The weather was so nice I put it out on the deck.  I can't do the same for the matching shell (now blocking) since it is snowing.  I put in the waistband elastic and took care of all of the yarntails this morning.

The photo on the left (no flash) shows the true color of the yarn.  The photo on the right (with flash) shows the skirt edging better.  I can't say I enjoy working with linen, particularly two strands but I love the result.  The skirt has a nice drape. 

It took the better part of this week to knit the shell.  I think it took longer since I kept ripping it out to get the shaping exactly how I wanted it and it was knit flat, unlike the skirt. 

This photo (with flash) gives you an idea of what the final shell will look like.  The linen fabric is fairly stiff so I decided the top should be more tailored.  It will button in the back.  There will be narrow bands around the armholes and neckline.  It will probably take a day or so to dry but I will definitely finish it up next week and write the pattern.  I've learned the hard way I have to do the pattern pretty soon after the garment is complete. 

I will start work on the cabled tunic later today.   Unfortunately I have figured out that the cable pattern I originally wanted to do just won't work for a tunic.  I have another one in mind that will work perfectly.