My knitting adventures while travelling (week 60)

___I am back !___

Preparing for my trip

In preparation for my trip to visit with family in England, I did a provisional cast-on of 112 stitches for the poncho I had decided  to work on while visiting.  I was thinking that this is the perfect project to knit while chatting.

The flight over

On the flight over I watched one of the documentaries which were offered for in-flight viewing:   

Cyril Cullen- Master Knitter.  This was very inspirational!  You can read up on him and his designs here:  https://cyrilcullen.wordpress.com/about/

Arriving in England

With snow still on the ground in Tivoli when we left, it was nice to see that Spring was in full swing in England:

My back garden before leaving

My Mother-In-Law's garden

We even enjoyed some ice cream by the beach.

 While there

As I walked into town every day from my Mother-in-Law's house for some groceries, I checked out the newly opend yarn shop right in the heart of Formby inside Derbyshire's :  The Good Wool Shop  (click on the link and it takes you right to their website).  

Isabel carries wonderful yarns and other odds and ends there.  The prices are very reasonable for the quality of yarns.

I ended up visiting with Isabel almost every day and we found that we have other things in common beyond our love for fiber-crafts.  She lived in Swizerland and in Germany for a number of years.  And not just in Germany but in a city I know well as it is there that I went to university:  Mainz (Johannes Gutenberg University).  Sometimes we talked in German, but kept falling back into English.

"Life is short, knit faster"

Thursday afternoon knit group.  From left to right:  Isabel, Gill and Doris

I ended up buying two books, both with instructions on making toy animals; one in crochet and one in knitting.  I liked the range of animals in the crochet patterns, 40 in total!  Most of the patterns are also available individually on ravelry and I am thinking to offer a class some time in the future.  What I liked about the knitted toys book other than that I favor knitting over crochet, is that some of the patterns have movable limbs as the legs and arms are attached by string and button.

 

 I also bought some yarn.  One local yarn which will make some very nice fingerless mitts for next winter.

And I also bought several skeins of  Artesano yarn which was 25% off during the month of April.

One skein of cream colored sock yarn as the Main color for the shawl "Leftie" by Martina Behm.  This will help me to use up a bunch of left-over sock yarn.

And on the last day I also bought two skeins of the Alpaca Silk yarn.  I had been drawn to this yarn all along and did not want to leave without some of it.  I found a nice pattern for a lacy summer top, Athena. This is a free pattern download on ravelry!  Isabel printed out the pattern for me so I am ready to go :)

One of the days I took the train down to Liverpool which is just a few stops South from Formby.  First I spent some time in the wonderful library:

View from the roof-top

The Oak Room

While in Liverpool I went to another yarn shop, Abakhan on  Stafford Street where I bought several shawl pins (a steal at £ 4.50 and £ 1.79 respectively).

During our time in England we also celebrated my husband's birthday and I finally could give him his socks.

During the two weeks I was there I almost finished the poncho (as I said: a very quick knit).  I just have to do the lace border now and seam it together and of course block it.

My Mother-in-Law showed me a picture of one of the ponchos she had knitted in the 60's for her daughter. You can see my Sister-In-Law's eight year old self  wearing a blue- and while poncho in the Lake District.  It is interesting how fashion repeats itself with small variations.

                

Best wishes for Passover and Easter (week 59)

Lavalette Shawl

The latest store sample for The Knitting Garage at Stickle's is this beautiful "Lavalette Shawl".
It is not only a beautiful shawl done up in just one skein of Madeline Tosh Sock yarn on US# 7 needles, but also a relatively quick and easy knit.  If you have never knitted a triangular shawl before, you may want to consider taking my class on Wednesday May 6th or Saturday May 9th.  You will learn the provisional cast-on, the construction of the shawl and two simple lace stitches.

Madeline Tosh Yarn

If there is a specific Madeline Tosh yarn you would like to order for future projects through The Knitting Garage at Stickle's, you need to let us know by May 10th! Leah can still add a few more skeins into the order before it gets processed. Remember that Madeline Tosh orders take rather long to receive since they hand-dye the yarn to order. It is one of my favorite yarns and sometimes hard to come by in the right color and quantity, so make sure to take advantage of this heads-up. 

Have a great month of April

Last but not least I want to wish everyone a good month of knitting and if the weather holds like today perhaps some gardening. It is presently 64 F in Tivoli, NY!!!  
I will be away for the better part of the month visiting family in England with my husband.  As many of you know, this is going to be a bittersweet visit as we had a recent death in the family, but I am glad to be going.
I am looking forward to catch up with everyone when I get back.

Classes this May at The Knitting Garage

Class Schedule at The Knitting Garage May 2015

                                                                                                                                          

I have come up with a few fun projects for both the beginner knitter and for those who want to do something a little more advanced .

Individual Projects:

These classes are held twice: First on Wednesday morning 11am to 1pm and then on the following Saturday from 10am to 12noon (dates are indicated).  The cost of $40 per class includes the pattern and any additional help to finish the project.  Prior sign-up is necessary for the class during the week on Wednesday and recommended for the Saturday classes, but additional walk-ins are welcome Saturdays with a maximum number of four students per class.

May 6^th and 9^th                  Lavalette (for the Beginner Lace Knitter)

You will learn the provisional cast on; understand the construction of a tri-angular shawl and learn the difference between k2tog and ssk. 

This shawl is knitted in Fingering weight yarn on US#7 needles.

May 13^th and 16^th              Learn to knit Easy Folded Poncho or Simple Fingerless Mitts(for the    new knitter; no previous knowledge needed)

You will learn how to cast on, the knit stitch and the purl stitch and how to seam.

The choice is yours which project you want to start with.  The mitts are small and simple to make; the poncho will take you considerably longer.

For the Mitts you will need heavy worsted yarn and US# 7 needles.

For the Poncho you will need DK weight yarn and US# 6 needles (we have a beautiful store sample of this pattern).

May 20^th and 23^rd             Kitty  (PART 1)(for the Beginner Knitter)

     You will learn a simple raglan construction.  This cardigan is knitted top down.

     This is a cute and popular pattern.  We have a store sample of this cardigan in pink.

     You will need Fingering weight yarn and US#5 needles.

May 27^th and 30^th              Kitty (Part 2)(For the Beginner Knitter)

You will learn how to work the Lace section on this girl’s cardigan.

You do not need to take both classes for “Kitty”, but you will get a 20% discount if you do.

  As always do check out Julie’s classes at The Knitting Garage, too.

Spreading joy (week 58)

Transitions

I am naming my finished Ginkgo Shawl "Transitions" which makes perfect sense to me.  Click on the link to get to the pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spreading Joy

A quick gift

I didn't want to start on a new project before going to visit my in-laws.  While I am there I am planning to work on my "Easy Folded Poncho" which is a popular pattern by Churchmouse and is just stockinette stitch. It will be easy to chat and visit with everybody while knitting this; no stitches or rows to count and I already bought the yarn last November!!!  I just have to wind it up.

But there are some smaller things I have been wanting to do and I thought this is a good time for them.

I have been wanting to make a quick gift for someone for a while now.  I finally decided on the cabled headband which is one of my own designs and a free pattern to boot (again, click on the link to get to the pattern).  

As this is a gift for someone I don't know too closely, I decided on a yarn which is easy to take care of and can be machine washed.  I checked my stash and found a nice rust colored yarn form England "Robin Double Knit", which my Mother-in -Law had given me a while back and started knitting .... 

I knitted double stranded to get the right weight

....and knitted...

a little over 22 inches; 24 cables total

... and three hours later I was done ...

Kitchener stitch joint

Today I surprised Kelly with the headband which she loves :)

Sometimes it just takes a little effort, a little yarn and a few hours time to brighten someone's day!

Having the right tools ( week 57)

Ginkgo Shawl

Remember the shawl I started a little over two weeks ago?  The one I had bought the pattern and yarn for in Swansboro, NC ?
I had seen the store sample at "The Salty Sheep" and the owner, Peggy, helped me choose some very fine yarn.
Last week I had started with the Lace section.

So much easier

The lace section is an easy to remember pattern, but I was struggling with the "k3tog".  Almost each time I had to poke the stitches first to make them large enough to insert my needle through all three.  I did this for the first 14 rows and must say it was no fun especially since there are so many of those stitches and the rows are getting longer and longer.

You can see that the lace needle (top) is much more tapered and has more of a point

...and it slides through the 3 stitches with ease!

I wanted to avoid buying yet another knitting needle.  I have multiple size 4's, but next time I was at The Knitting Garage at A L Stickle I did buy a size 4 Chiao Goo Lace needle and switched my stitches over in the very next row.  The rest of the knitting was so much easier!!! It really pays off to have the right tools. 
I even did two rows in the car on a very bumpy ride to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.  This winter left the roads up here in terrible disrepair. But with the right needle even then I was fine to do my stitches :)

Pass it on

Since I had such a good experience with using the best tools available, I helped someone else.  On Tuesday, when one of our customers was struggling to make the bobbles for Building Block #3 , I had her try out the lace needles and she promptly not only knitted faster and with more ease, but ended up buying a set.  She had been using dull pointed wooden needles until then.  Not to say they are bad needles, but there is a time and place and project for them and lace knitting is not it.

Please help re-name this shawl

Pre-blocking

On the blocking mat

close-up of the ginkgo leaf

I finished knitting the Gingko Shawl which I had named "Zen" after the name of the color for the yarn used as Main Color.
Once I started using the Contrasting Color ("Celeste"), I felt that "Zen" no longer seemed the right name as giggles of happiness started rising up in me... perhaps "Swansboro" after the town where I bought the pattern and yarn?  Any suggestions are welcome!

 Happy knitting everyone, till next week :)

What's on my needles (week 56)

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! 

Candle Flame Shawl

At The Knitting Garage

Building Blocks

I did finish block #3 for the store and it is hanging in the window.  I forgot to take a picture, but will do so next week.  Knitting the bobbles on this square caused me all kind of problems with my Gingko Shawl at home, but more about that later.

Finding the right pattern for variegated yarn

Variegated yarn looks so pretty in the skein, but some patterns get lost in the colors. Just think about all the cabling I did in one pair of socks for Tony:  http://ravel.me/Strickliese/tma
I am using the Madeline Tosh Sock yarn in the color "Stephen loves Tosh" and started off on the "Sugar and Cream Cowl",  but knew almost right away that this was not a good match.

So, what to do?  I went on ravelry and searched for the yarn "Tosh Socks".  Then I clicked on the "26563 projects" and put in "Stephen loves Tosh" in the "search inside projects".
That is how I came across a lovely shawl pattern "Lavalette" by Kirsten Kapur and very helpful project notes by "KNITTINGinHI": "I’m sure she had no clue when she purchased this skein how variegated yarn knits up. They are so pretty in the skein but knit so busy looking. I decided to knit another Lavalette, as I previously knit a very variegated skein in this pattern and it looked wonderful."
I think this will make a very stunning next store sample and the pattern is FREE to boot!  You can click on the link below the picture.

Lavalette

New Tab on The Knitting Garage blog

By the way, did you notice the new tab on The Knitting Garage blog "meet us": http://www.knittinggarage.com/new/about-us/meet-us/

At Home

This gave me the idea to add a tab on my blog:  "Contact me" with links to all the sites where you can find me :) : http://knitwithdoris.blogspot.com/p/contact-me.html

Gingko Shawl

In just one week I have gotten quite far with this shawl.  The pattern is easy to follow.
However it has one stitch which is similar to one stitch in the Building Blocks square #3.  Similar, but not the same!  To make the bobbles in the Building blocks I have to (k1, Yo, k1, Yo, k1) into the same stitch and for the Gingko shawl I have to (k1, Yo, k1) into the same stitch.  Twice I got mixed up and both times I had to take out a full four rows!
Another minor difficulty I am having now that I am in the lace section, is that my needle is not pointy enough to k3tog with ease; perhaps I should invest into a pointier lace knitting needle for these rows....one of the nice Chia Goo Lace needles we sell at the store!

Unfinished sweater getting finished

You may remember when my friend Marie passed away and we donated her yarns to the local libraries.  Well, last year an unfinished sweater was found in that stash.  She had obviously started a cardigan for her husband.  The back is done and the right front is done.  The left front is done partially and the sleeves are still missing.  There was the pattern and enough yarn in the same bag to finish it so I just started on finishing this for Jim.
I started on the partially done left front. The first problem I ran into was to not follow the pattern, but to match up the two sides.  Although she was knitting it in size large she did not do increases after the ribbed edge. At first I did the increases on the left front in the first row when taking over, but then ripped it out and re-started as I think the cardigan would look too lopsided!
I am happy to be doing this now, but just could not have done it sooner; I would rather sit next to her while we both knit.....
I am making myself work on this for one hour each day before knitting anything else.  While knitting I think of her and all the things we could have still done together, but I am grateful, too, for all the things we did do together.
I will post some pictures of my progress next week.

The pattern, finished back and finished right front