Knitting – Jan Atherton

All Or Nothing…

Modified Cruden Vest

Ever waited ages for a bus and three arrive at once? Well that is sort of what happened with my knitting projects! For the last couple of years I have been trying to complete some of my UFOs, only allowing myself a new cast on if I need something for travelling that can be worked on in between other things.

The vest is a very modified version of Ysolda Teague’s Cruden design, the numbers for the cast on and the motifs used are pretty much the same, however I changed the original scoop neck into a v neck, which works better on me and I made the ribbing a bit deeper to give me a neater, more late 1960’s/early 1970’s fit, similar to the one in the photo of Steve Marriott of the Small Faces, photographed by Andrew Maclear (not Gered Mankowitz, as I originally thought) that was the inspiration for the vest. The vest isn’t a recreation of Steve’s vest, the photo is a bit too dark and indistinct to do that, but I loved the cropped proportions and the dark background with brighter motifs and wanted something with a similar feel.

I cast the vest on in the summer of 2018, but it sat in a bag knitted up to the second set of wider motifs for a couple of years,then I knitted it up to the underarms in April this year, then finally I dug it out about a month ago and just finished it off! I knitted the upper body flat and in sections and used a 3 needle bind off on the shoulders, as the fit is quite close and I wasn’t 100% sure it would fit, so I wanted to be able unravel it and reknit it, if it was a bit tight around the bust, which I wouldn’t have been able to do if it was steeked. Now I know how many stitches I need for a similar garment in Fair Isle, I can maybe try steeking another time, but I also like that the edges are fully finished by knitting it this way.

For anyone interested in the colours used in this project, I used Harrisville Shetland in Midnight as the main colour for the background and ribbing and the rest of the colours were all Jamieson & Smith’s 2 ply Jumper Weight yarn in the following colours:

FC41, FC37, FC34, 123 mix, 20 and 14.

Cruden

Lightweight Hipster Shawl

The first scarf is Joji Locatelli’s Lightweight Hipster shawl, knitted in a lovely merino fingering weight yarn that was hand dyed by Sarah at Another Crafty Girl – this was deep stash from about 2013, I had thought a while ago about making socks with it, but I think this was a far better way to use it. The shawl was written for a similar base and I was able to use every last scrap, the original has fringe, but I’m not sure I have enough to add it and I quite like the edge without it. I’m not sure if Sarah still dyes yarn, or not, but this was lovely to use, the colour is called Blueberry, but it is more of a soft cobalt blue.

https://www.jojiknits.com/product-page/lightweight-hipster

The second scarf is Gudrun Johnston’s Tarra, from the 3rd book in her Shetland Trader series. I also used Jamieson & Smith’s 2 ply Jumper Weight in this project. I used colours 203, FC37, 21 and FC56.

The cowl is the Torshavn cowl by Susan Crawford, I used Sunday Knits Nirvana 3 ply in Ocean and Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport in shade 730S/Natural. The Brown Sheep yarn is slightly thicker than the Nirvana, but both yarns are super soft against the skin and lovely to use. I only had a 20g mini skein of the Nirvana, so I left off the narrow contrast edging on the cowl, but in the end I think I could have done it, maybe next time! If you want to try a colour work project for the first time, this would be a lovely one, it is only two colours and the floats are small – it would be perfect with handspun yarn, either fingering/sport weight too! 🙂 I have linked to the Blodini cowl, which uses the same basic stitch pattern, I think I originally purchased the pattern on Ravelry, however as I can only spend a short amount of time on ravelry, due to migraines, I prefer to share a link to Susan’s blog.

Pattern – Blodini

Tarra

Torshavn

Link to inspiration photo of Steve Marriott:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/479914904058947763/

Take the long way round

One of the things I like about social media is that there are many different ways to share information about various crafts out there now, that just did not exist even 10 years ago. I feel like even though I have been making things for a long time, that there is always something new to learn, however I also feel that I still use a lot of trial and error when making things as well and some people don’t always share that part of the process, they just prefer to skip that and not show the effort involved, or how to correct mistakes, which can be disheartening, especially to someone new to the craft. This is where forums come in and blogs, I still love knitting blogs, even though they are not always updated now.

Visual representations like charts, diagrams and photos help me the most, followed by videos, or someone showing me how to do something. Others prefer detailed written instructions. As far as patterns are concerned, I like to have both types of information available, just so I can double check just to make sure. I’m teaching myself how to knit toe up socks just now, so that I can get to the point where I can either knit a basic pair of socks either way up without a pattern, or looking down at my knitting as often, this year is about improving the way my knitting flows. I want to be able to make things that fit based on my own measurements, or to customise patterns to fit in the same way that I have done with some of my sewing projects. I have also just finished spinning up some BFL/Yak/Alpaca/Camel/Silk blends, possibly for a cowl, or a shawl, once they are dry, I can do some sampling to decide what lace patterns I want to use. This photo was taken after plying, but before washing the skeins.

Over the years I have changed the way I knit quite a lot, for many reasons, firstly to improve tension. I used to knit very tightly, I had a death grip on my yarn sometimes which made for wonky stitches, as the yarn got stretched out. Secondly to make it more comfortable to knit for longer periods, I learned to switch over to my left hand. I write and draw mostly with my right, so now I feel like my hands are more evenly balanced. I haven’t really shown that anywhere, but I think that is because I’m wary about doing so, I know my knitting and purling looks odd when people see it and I have seen some odd reactions to it, which is one of the reasons why I think I have been reluctant to video it, but I know it is something that is more comfortable for me long term. My knitting and purling look very similar, the main difference is in the way that the needle goes into the stitch, when I knit the needle goes under the right leg of the V from front to back and to purl the needle goes under the right leg of the V from behind to the front and the yarn is wrapped over the front of the needle to the back for both knit and purl, if that make sense.

I think I’m more of a process knitter, I do want the finished object eventually, but it is more about the time spent enjoying what I’m working on and learning the skills along the way, to make what I want look the way I would like it to. I often have to alter patterns, so over the next few years I feel like I want to explore more resources for adjusting the ones I have and for writing a few things for myself from scratch. I have thought about writing up a few ideas, but I know I prefer to make things rather than promote them, I don’t enjoy that bit! It is a long term goal along with spinning some yarns to go with them and recording that process/progress as well. I love seeing everyone’s Make Nine’s on Instagram, there are so many gorgeous items made every year, but I know that planning everything that far in advance doesn’t always work for me. What kinds of knitting websites do you enjoy and what kinds of instructions work for you?

Under The Influence – wool fumes…that is…

Photo shows singles, two samples and lace weight yarn, made from gorgeous fibres from Dragonfly Fibers and Wingham Woolworks from the UK. I love working with their fibres, as their colours are always gorgeous and easy to spin.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with social media. I love how it can bring people from all over the world together to share their hobbies and interests. I especially love photo heavy crafting blogs, Instagram and You tube videos, but I’m also a bit of (a lot of) an introvert, who isn’t always so good at expressing themselves, except through my work. I do love being able to keep up with friends, especially as regular letter writing, or phone conversations are not my strong point.

I haven’t been on Facebook, or Ravelry much since both changed their interfaces recently. I really miss friends there, but I can only view those websites for short periods of time, before I get migraine headaches from them, so I tend to go on for a few minutes, update things, check in on a few close friends and get off again, rather than having it on in the background like I used to. Before anyone says “Have you really tried the new version?” again, yes I have, but the migraine is not worth it, especially as my son is doing home learning and needs me to be there right now. So for now, I think I’m going to try to make more of an effort to put more of my work on this blog and Instagram. Especially as other ways of showing my work is more difficult due to the current restrictions. It may be irregular, just when I feel I have some progress to show.

Instagram isn’t ideal either, but I love the textile community there, with so many wonderful weavers, spinners, knitters and beaders. I also keep up with friends that are jewellery artists and musicians on Instagram and artists and musicians that inspire me every day. One thing I haven’t gotten involved with is online influencing, I have been asked, but I usually block those requests. If I mention a product, book, or yarn, or fibre on my page it is usually something I have purchased for myself, or been given as a gift by family, or friends and if I love it, I share it. I’m not adverse to giving product reviews if they are textile, or craft related, but they have to be from companies I trust and respect and I would always want to give a considered, constructive review, not necessarily a glowingly positive one.

Studio Day #1

Wednesday is always a day when I can get a little bit of time to work on some jewellery, or a craft project. My son goes to a childminder every Wednesday to give me a day to work on personal projects.

Today I worked on two things, the first is a scarf for Jeremy, I did intend this as a Valentine’s present and he does know about it, but because I am hand spinning the yarn it is taking a bit longer than I had hoped, but that is because I have to fit it around everything else. I am using some Humbug BFL for the warp, this is what I have so far. It doesn’t look like much just now, but I reached about the halfway mark today. Jeremy is 6 ft tall, so I’m aiming for a finished scarf that is around 6 -7 ft long before I add fringe.

The Second thing that I worked on after dinner is the Crystal Bay shawl by Rosemary Hill, from her book New Lace Knitting. This is the second thing I have knitted from this book and I have only had it for a few months, I can see me making quite a few patterns from this book. I have completed the body of the shawl and the first two edging repeats. I would like to have both of these projects done by the end of the month if possible.

Knitting with Beads – An Introduction

I had intended to post this last week, but had a little difficulty posting to WordPress, until we did a few updates.

When adding beads to your knitted projects you can choose whether to string your beads on before you start to knit, or you can choose to use a tool to add beads as you go this series of blog posts over the next few weeks. I hope to cover some of the most basic techniques tools and materials, plus some fun ones.

There are advantages and disadvantage to both of the main types of bead knitting.

Pre-strung Beads:

Advantages:

1. You don’t have to stop and start, once your beads are strung, you can just knit and place your beads where needed.

2. You can cover large areas of beadwork relatively quickly, especially if you want the surface to be covered with beads on every stitch.

3. Portability: Once all your beads are strung on you can work on it anywhere, much easier than trying to juggle a box of loose beads and a crochet hook.

Disadvantages:

1. Preparation time: You have to sit and string your beads before you start, but mess up the sequence and you have to cut the yarn, or break the offending bead(s) to correct your mistake, if your beads are all one type/colour, you can sometimes speed this process up using a bead spinner.

2. Placement: When the beads are knitted in, they only sit on one leg of the stitch and sometimes they can wander into either the spaces between beads, or to the back of the fabric when you don’t want them to, or they can flip and sit sideways, especially if the bead is flat. If you want the beads to sit nicely on a specific stitch, for example when you want to replace a nuup with a bead, you may prefer to use a crochet hook, or other tool to place the bead over both legs of the stitch.

3. Wear and tear on the yarn/thread: If you have all of your beads for your project strung onto your yarn at once, you may experience some wear and tear on your thread, as you slide your beads along your thread – particularly if you are using crystals, or cut beads which can cut your yarn. It is better to string a portion of your beads onto your yarn, knit until those beads are used up, cut and rejoin your yarn once you have strung some more. I use a Russian join (link) for most of my lace and fingering weight projects as it is strong, and difficult to find once your project is washed and blocked.

4. Bias: Because the bead sits on one leg of the stitch, the fabric has a natural bias, this can be counteracted by knitting each stitch through the back loop and purling the return rows normally, though this works best for a completely beaded fabric where the beads completely cover the stitches. If you are knitting in the round, alternate knitting one row through the back loop and one row as normal.

Knitting with Beads using a tool:

Advantages:

1. Placement: You can place your beads over a specific stitch and they will stay where you put them, and they are useful for when you want to highlight your design with a few beads here and there.

2. It is a good method for adding larger beads, sequins, pendants, or charms too.

Disadvantages:

Beads are placed one at a time, so it can take some time to bead any project, a crochet hook will only take 3 or 4 beads at a time, but the super floss, or Fleagle Beader methods allow you to load up many more beads at a time, however you then have to carry around a small box for the beads and your hook, or other tool if you want to carry your project with you on a journey, and this box needs a secure closure, or your beads can leak into your knitting bag, or carry on bag.

In the next post, I will go into more detail, showing you some of the effects you can achieve with pre-strung beads.