One-Row Stripes

This photo cheers me up.  It was the view from my hotel room at TNNA in San Diego.  A week ago I was looking at that.  Now I'm looking at snow!

This will be my last post for awhile.  I will be having surgery next week and I am not making any promises about how soon I will be able to sit at my computer.  I have been very busy this week trying to get all of the stuff for Cast On ready for the next photo shoot.  I have yet to sort through all of the things I picked up for product review at TNNA.  Remember that each month there will be a drawing for these products.  You do have to be a member of TKGA to enter.  Just go to TKGA.com and sign in.  You can then register.

STUDENT NEWS

Quite a few lessons arrived while I was gone.  I am going to try my best to review things which arrive post surgery but if I don't get to things immediately, please be patient.  Include your email in the lesson and I will let you know it arrived.

TIP OF THE WEEK

The tip this week doesn't really apply to any of the classes I teach or the Masters Program.  It is just something I find interested.  I've used this in quite a few projects.  I love stripes, especially for children's clothing and this is a way to knit single row stripes without cutting the yarn.  There are some limitations on this technique.  It works best for just two colors and you need a circular needle.  How it works is that you knit a row in Color A.  Instead of turning the work and starting Color B on the purlside, you slide your work down to the right.  You knit the next row with Color B.  Now working yarn of both colors is at the left side of the work.  Turn and using Color A, purl the row.  You then slide the stitches on the needle back to the left.  Purl the next row using Color B.  That is all there is to it.  Very simple.  The advantage of this is that you don't have all of those yarn tails.  The selvedges don't look half  bad as well.  I knit quite a few baby sweaters using this technique.   One-Row Stripes Video

The next time I post, I will show how to do this in the round.  It is a different technique--helix stripes--but it provides the same look.

KNITTING SALON

Salon will be on Sunday from 1-4pm.  I won't pack up the stuff I got at TNNA if you want to look through it.  Most vendors prefer to ship after the show but I did carry home some stuff.

CURRENT PROJECTS

I finished all of the knitting and the pattern for the Coco Jacket before I left for California.  I'm finding it easier to write the patterns before doing the finishing.  I did the finishing when I got home.

I think the cables show up pretty well.  I did do some waist line shaping but it is optional.  Since I know who the model will be, I knit it to her specifications.  The sleeves in the sample are a bit long as she has really long arms. 

I worked on the man's argyle vest (which I am calling Shades of Gray) on the plane and in my hotel room.  I finished it up but I still haven't done the finishing as I plan to write the pattern this afternoon.  I generally take everything with me to the photo shoot but in case I'm not up for the 4 hour drive by the 4th, I am sending everything early next week.  

The final thing I am doing for the magazines is a pair of socks using Miss Babs Shiruku.  I've knit these socks lots of times for gifts and I've had some requests to do the pattern.  The pattern is done and I am almost done with the second sock.  I generally don't work this way.  I almost always completely finish a garment (including the pattern) before starting another. 

Avoiding Bi-colored Purl Stitches in Ribbing

I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday.  I spent my baking 22 different type of cookies and knitting presents.  I did get everything finished, not necessarily before Christmas.

I will not be posting blog entries regularly during January and February.  I will be at TNNA in San Diego from January 8-12 looking at new products to review for upcoming issues of Cast On.  Then I will be having surgery on January 22nd.  I am making no promises.  I expect to be out and about fairly soon but you never know.

STUDENT NEWS
I got several course orders during December and reviewed quite a few lessons.  I've listed them to the right.  If you send lessons in January, I will try to get to them as soon as I get back from San Diego.  I hope to be able to review lessons by the end of January after my surgery.


TIP OF THE WEEK
The next few tips will be about stripes.  I love stripes.  I will discuss single row stripes on circular needles, helix stripes and jogless joins in the upcoming weeks.  Today's tip is about bi-colored purl stitches in striped ribbing.  This is something that is included in Level 1 of the Masters Program.

If you have ever knit stripes in ribbing, you probably have noticed that the row with the color change looks a little different (and not in a good way).

If you look at the row where the white changes to red, you will see that red and white interlock in the purl stitches.  The "frowns" (or the stitch itself) are white while the "smiles" (or the space between the stitches) are red.  While knit stitches stack on top of each other in a column, purl stitches interlock the new stitch with the old stitch.  In the photograph, I have stretched the swatch so that you can clearly see the purl stitches.  This may be an effect that you want in your project but most knitters prefer the clean look of the next color change where the red changes to white.  Notice that there are no bi-colored purls.



This is the easiest thing in the world to do.  Simply work all of the stitches in first row of the new color as knit stitches.  This has to be on the RS of the work.  On the next row switch back to working in the ribbing pattern.  Here is the video:  Avoiding Bi-Colored Purls in Ribbing


KNITTING SALON
Salon will be on Sunday from 2-5pm.  I hope you can make it.  


CURRENT PROJECTS
As usual, I forgot to take photos of some of the things I knit for gifts.  I realized I didn't get a photo of the socks I made for my oldest daughter or the scarf I made for the younger one.  I was in such a hurry to send them off!

I had a period of panic when my sister let me know that she hadn't received the box I sent with their gifts.  I really didn't want to reknit the presents.  I didn't get a photo of the scarf I made for my nephew but here are the hats and mittens for my sister and niece.  (The package did get there 12 days after I mailed it!)

I made Jordan a pair of fingerless mitts using the same yarn I used for my daughter's socks.  It is Alisha Goes  Around, Tracks of Bison.  I love this yarn.  The colors are wonderful and it is a joy to work with.  The photo doesn't do the color justice.  It is a deep green in real life.  Look at her website.  The color is Downhill.

Alisha Goes Around

Here is the scarf I made for Cynthia.  It is a Classic Elite linen blend.  She lives in Dallas so she doesn't need wool or alpaca!

I have started working on my Cast On projects.  I am doing the jacket to match the pencil skirt I did for the last issue.  I haven't photographed it yet.  By the time I do another posting I should have it done.