Tag Archives: knitting

With a Bow on Top

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It seems like everyone I know is having a birthday this month.  (Except for me.  Wah wah.)  And a rash of birthdays means one thing for knitters like me and you; lots of gift knitting.  My go-to knit gift for anyone over the age of 15 is a pair of hand-knit socks.  They’re (relatively) quick, small enough that you don’t have to spend your entire food budget on the yarn, and totally customizable.   And, of course, they’re fun to make, and always well-received.

Now, you could just wrap up your socks in wrapping paper, or stuff them in a gift bag, but where’s the DIY spirit in that?

My favorite way to package hand knit socks is in one of those little half-pint berry containers that you get from the grocery store.  Have you ever realized that they’re the perfect size to fit a pair of socks*.  These are made from recycled paper, but you can find plastic ones, too, sometimes.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI roll up a pair of socks, and put them in the berry container, and take a little bit of pretty contrasting ribbon or yarn and tie a nice bow.  It’s that easy to make a perfect little gift charming enough that even Martha Stewart would approve.

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*They would fit a pair of mittens, a hat, washcloth or other small accessory well, too.  I just have a thing for socks.

Inspiration: Aran Knitting

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It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and instead of drinking (virtual) green beer and wearing obnoxious glittery green shamrock jewelry, let’s talk about something that’s more traditionally Irish (and way less racist).

partypatty[1]Aran Sweaters are gorgeous and so cozy.  They are traditionally made on the Aran Islands, located off the west coast of Ireland.  And with most traditional crafts, they live in a fog of tradition and old wives’ tales.   Supposedly, they were supposedly knitted in untreated wool for fishermen by their wives.  They left the lanolin on the wool to add an extra water-proofing layer.  (I suppose this makes sense, but can you imagine the stink of a fishing boat full of people in unwashed wool sweaters?  Ugh!)

Some people say that families (or individual knitters) each had traditional motifs that they would use on each sweater.  I’m sure there’s some truth to this.  Everyone has patterns they gravitate to and patterns they can’t stomach.  But, as a knitter who gets bored when she has to make a second sock, I can’t imagine that someone would tie them self to making sweaters with the same pattern over and over forever.

My favorite piece of lore surrounding the Aran sweater is the idea that each motif has a symbolic meaning.  I don’t know how true it is, but it’s a great thought.  The traditional honeycomb pattern  means “hard work”, cables mean “safety,” and diamonds mean “prosperity.”  It’s like the sweater is a good luck charm for your family member to wear, which is an idea I really like.

Want to try your hand at Aran knitting?  Here are a couple (more or less traditional) patterns:

Staghorn Aran Second Edition by Janet Szabo

5280327608_aa0025b2ac_z[1]Baby Poonam by Norah Gaughan

baby_poonan_lg_medium[1]Aran Felted Hot Water Bottle by Ann Budd

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Knitting as Therapy

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This weekend I realized something that I have known for a really long time in the back of my mind, but crystallized on Saturday.

My roller derby league had a bout this weekend (Tilted Thunder Rail Birds, if you’re in the Seattle area… you should come watch us play.  It’s pretty rad).  I was doing my usual pre-game running around with my team (running stairs, beating up a punching bag, listening to gangsta rap… you know, the usual).  But, when we finished our usual pre-bout ritual, we had an extra fifteen minutes before we had to go out and start playing.

We were all antsy and hyped up on adrenaline.  I was so anxious I could hardly sit still, much less think about the strategy we were about to execute.  So, I did what every good knitter would do.  I pulled out a half-finished sock and worked a few rows.

WP_20140301_001(My teammates-as usual- teased me about it.  But if it makes me a better skater, I think they should just shut their mouths.  So there.)

I do this before every game.  It helps me calm down, focus and take a deep breath before having to do something difficult or scary.  I even bring my knitting along when I go on job interviews.  I (obviously) don’t knit during a game or an interview, but knowing that it’s there is somehow comforting.

It’s like therapy, or mood stabilizing drugs, but fuzzier.  And you get a sock at the end.  I know I’m not the first (or the last) to discover the therapeutic uses of knitting, but still.  It’s definitely something that needs to be put in the list of “Reasons You Should Knit.”

When do you use knitting as therapy?

Accross the Finish Line

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Phew!  The Olympics are over, and the Ravellenic Games are finished!  I don’t know if you took part, but I had a really great time.  And I knit like a Norwegian cross-country skier (in other words- really, really quickly).

My sweater came together without too much trouble.  I did have a little issue during the first weekend of the games, when I had a little math issue (compounded by the fact that I – overachiever that I am – was trying to finish an entire sweater in a week) that forced me to re-knit my sleeves a couple times.  (Apparently my arms are not 12 inches long and pointy.  Who knew?)  But, other than that, I skated through this project at a nice little clip.

Anyway, here’s my final product in all it’s glory!  (Please ignore the slightly awkward poses.  I can make a sweater in two weeks, but I’m damned if I can take a decent photograph.  It’s a curse.)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI blocked the sleeves slightly too much, so they’re a smidge long, but that’s OK.  I have long monkey arms, so it’s sometimes a treat to have too-long sleeves.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI love how the slip-stitch color-work panels turned out.  (And they were crazy easy to do!  I’ll post instructions soon.  Maybe Wednesday, if I have time.)

The sweater was worked in KnitPicks’ Wool of the Andes, and the colors were:

  • Sapphire Heather (body)
  • Bluebird (darker contrast blue)
  • Clarity (pale contrast blue)
  • Papaya Heather (orange)
  • Fairy Tale (fuchsia)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADespite the dorky pictures, I’m quite pleased how this project turned out.

Did you participate in the Ravellenics?  What did you make?

I’m Ease-y

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When you are getting ready to start knitting a new pattern, you might come across phrases like “Meant to be worn with positive ease” or “Designed to have 1 inch of negative ease” or even “Zero ease.”  What the heck is ease?

Ease is a really easy (sorry, I had to) way for a pattern designer to tell you how fitted (or not) a garment is meant to be.  A garment with positive ease (like this sweater) is meant to be worn loosely.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

A garment with negative ease (like these socks) are knit slightly smaller than my feet, so they end up nice and snug.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

A garment with zero ease (like this hat) has exactly the same dimensions as my head, so the hat is neither too tight nor too loose.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Ease is measured in inches (or centimeters, if you’re not in America).   To calculate the ease, you measure both the garment, and the person who will wear it.  Then you subtract the person’s measurement from the garment’s measurement.

For example, if a sweater has a bust line of 40 inches, and the person who is meant to wear it has an actual bust line of 36 inches, the ease for the sweater is +4 inches.  (40-36=4)

If a different sweater has a bust line of 35 inches, and if the same person wears it, the ease of this sweater is -1 inch.  (35-36=-1)

Got it?

Ease makes a huge difference in how a finished garment looks.  You wouldn’t want a fitted, structured sweater with positive ease- it would look baggy and too big.  And, you wouldn’t want a slouchy, cozy sweater with negative ease- it would look like you were trying to wear your little sister’s clothes.  And the last thing you want to do is knit up an entire sweater, only to have it look like you pulled it from the by-the-pound bin at Goodwill.  Ew.

Inspiration: Parade of Knitwear

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I don’t know about you, but I was glued to the TV on Friday night, eagerly awaiting the awesome (or the semi-awesome, as it often ends up) that is the Olympic Opening Ceremony.  Especially since this is the Winter Games, I was expecting some excellent knitwear.  I was less than happy, therefore, when a disturbing amount of Gore-Tex came out on the athletes.

But, nevertheless, there were a few points of light in a darkness of polar fleece and weatherproof jackets.

Slovakia went all-in on a heart-motif for their hats and scarves.2014 Winter Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony

Kyrgyzstan wore red-and-white scarves with a very cool curlicue motif.2014+Winter+Olympic+Games+Opening+Ceremony+_ksK8nJ2t5kl[1]

Andorra went all-out with (pardon my French) bitchin’ color work sweaters.OLY-2014-OPENING-CEREMONY-DELEGATION

And, well… This happened.1391805399020-USP-Olympics--Opening-Ceremony39[1]

It’s a knitting blog, so I have to include us in this post, after all.  But, let’s just not talk about them ever again.  Embarrassing and tacky, to say the least.  Not good, USA.  Not good at all.

Another awesome knitting moment happened during the Men’s Slopestyle (which, if you haven’t seen it yet, you need to watch it.  It’s super cool).  Check it out:1654697_10152558586959918_501735966_o

See that?  It’s Antti Koskinen, the coach from Finland.  Apparently the whole Finnish team are passing around the scarf, so that everyone who wants to will get a chance to work on it.  I can’t imagine a cooler project, or a better way to calm your nerves when you’re at the Olympics!

Olympic Knitting and Social Media for Dummies

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When I first started this blog, one of the first things I did was get a Twitter account, and link it to the blog.  Then I immediately forgot about it.  My poor Twitter page has been sitting all alone and neglected for almost a whole year.

But no more!  I’m determined to learn about Twitter!

1249827-twitter-logo[1]You’d think that Twitter would be easy enough for someone raised on computers to figure out, but it’s rather more complicated than I expected.  Retweets, @’s, hashtags…  This might be the first time that I truly felt like an old Luddite.

But I will persevere!  And tweet about my Ravellenic Games sweater.  Twitter seems like the perfect venue to give you updates on my sweater progress.  Doesn’t it?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo, if you tweet, follow me @on_the_needles.  Or, if you don’t have an account of your own, you can look at my tweets here.

Knitting Lessons

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I finally made it back to Seattle late (late late) last night, and I still have to unpack (and clean the house, and put away the Christmas decorations), so I don’t have time for a long, complicated post.

Instead, I have exciting news! Do you live in the Seattle area?  Do you want to learn to knit?  Are you having trouble with a particularly tricky pattern? Can’t make your sock’s heel turn?

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Then you’re in luck!  I am available to help with all your knitting conundrums!

Starting this spring, I will be giving private knitting lessons and group classes in the Seattle area.   I am happy to take you through a pre-designed course of lessons, or to help you with a new technique or tricky pattern you just can’t figure out.  Let me know what you want to do, and we’ll tailor a lesson just for you.  Individual lessons are $20 an hour, and groups of three or more are $15 per person.

Grab your yarn and needles, and a friend or two, and we’ll make it a party!

If you’re interested, please email me at knittingontheneedles@gmail.com

Happy Knitting!

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WIP Ornaments

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Imagine this:  You are going to a party, and you know that there will be a gift-exchange.  You don’t have time to go to the store.  Also, you’re broke.  You know the other guests at the party will all bring crazy-fancy gifts and you don’t want to be shown up.  And, did I mention, you leave in fifteen minutes?

I think it’s a time to make WIP Ornaments!

These are super fast, super easy and super cheap (in fact, you probably have everything you need in your craft bin right now).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGet the pattern here:

WIP Ornaments

December is Gift-cember

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My porch was icy this morning when I went out to the car, and it’s dark by 3:30 in the afternoon.  That can mean only one thing:  Christmas is coming!

And, if Christmas is coming, then gifts are coming, too.  So, I’m going to dedicate the blog from now until Christmas to everything knitting and gift-related.

Here are a couple of topics we’re going to cover, just to get you excited:

-Gifts for people who knit (your mom, your nephew, your great-aunt Phyllis or that dude who knits socks on the train that you take in to work in the morning)

-Knitted gifts for people who don’t knit (but appreciate the work that goes into a pair of mittens.  If they won’t appreciate your mittens, then they get a gift card to Amazon.)

-Gift inspiration (Giftspriation?  No.  That’s too cutesy, even for me.)

-Yarn-related gift wrapping (cooler than it sounds.)

So, slide up a chair, pour yourself a mug of hot apple cider, wrap a blanket around your shoulders (and pull on some wool socks, a hand-knit sweater or two, maybe a hat, and don’t forget the fingerless mitts… I’m cold, can’t you tell?) and get ready for a month-long gift-giving extravaganza!

 

*If you’re not one for the whole “Christmas” thing, that’s OK too.   Don’t worry, I’m not going to get all religious on you (although I can’t promise there won’t be a Rudolph or two in the following posts).  Everyone gives gifts at some point, or at least gives gifts to themselves from time to time, so you’ll probably (hopefully) be able to find something useful here in December.