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Last week in KnitBits we introduced our new afghan book, Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans. I thought it would be fun to delve into some of the design minds behind this stunning collection (see more on Ravelry). I asked Donna Yacino and Margery Winter to share their afghan associations with me…
CR: Describe your fantasy living space (no monetary or geographical limits!):
DY: I like a lot of different styles and locations. As long as there is tons of wall space for bookcases, I’m happy.
MW: An apartment on the Ile de la Cite, a loft in Berlin, a casita in Tulum, an apartment above a yarn shop in Lago Maggiore and a farm in Tuscany. While I’m dreaming, I want to keep my studio and my home in Providence. They suit me. I am extremely farsighted. I love big spaces and open floor plans. Lots of windows. I prefer stucco, stone and brick to wood framed houses. Small rooms and low ceiling make me claustrophobic.
CR: How do you think knitting fits into home decor?
DY: Perfectly in every room in the house!
- Marrakesh, designed by Donna, crocheted and embellished in Comfort Worsted
MW: That’s a good question. I have been literally surrounded by yarn for more than 40 years. I spend my workday hours in my loft studio. Now that I’m an editor, most of my yarn is in yarn binders. I keep bookshelves s full of volumes of yarn from all over the world. I love to be in my studio but it has become more about books and words than ever before in my life. My home is my sanctuary away from my studio, yet I have a knitting basket with my latest project at the ready. I have used my home to showcase my afghans and throws over the years. When a friend falls in love with one I often give it to them as a gift to make room for another piece and to clear the decks for another palette perhaps. My eclectic mix of art and crafts and stuff keeps evolving, it keeps changing but I only keep things that relate to my aesthetic. Afghans are the perfect knitting “canvas” on which to express my love for textiles and fine Art.
- Still Life, designed by Margery, knit in Comfort
CR: When and why are you tempted to knit afghans and throws?
DY: I always have a afghan/throw of some kind started. I’m tempted to do so simply because there are so many beautiful yarns and I don’t necessarily want to wear all of them.
MW: Always!
CR: Do you have any tips for making a larger project like this more manageable?
DY: Work on them during fall and winter to keep you warm (you can lower the thermostat) while creating.
MW: Just work on it a few minutes everyday and before you know it you will have a finsihed afghan.
CR: You’ve knit your favorite blanket from the book and now you’re picnic ready! Set the scene for us.
DY: Sunny Day shouts Hampton Beach to me. It is a favorite spot for my husband and me. Laying on the beach, eating homemade potato salad, with a sausage sandwich and fresh lemonade from one of the vendors…DH doing crossword puzzles and me probably reading something by Stephen King.
MW: I would suggest Pinwheel for picnic. Since I can’t seem to plan a meal that is at all coordinated, I might be likely to have Asian, Italian, Russian, Mexican all in the same picnic basket!
Hmmm, this is all so tempting! The weather has been beautiful here and I keep gazing at this picture of Calico Hill and dreaming of that first outdoor nap in the spring sun! Maybe a bit of brie, some summer reading…ahhh…
- Calico Hill, designed by Norah, knit in Comfort
Happy knitting (and crocheting!)
CR
These words jump up at you from the page, and if you’re like me, they can make your stomach sink almost instantly. If you’re a newer knitter you may be aghast–how can you perform two knitting actions simultaneously?! If you’re a more experienced knitter, it more likely that you’ve confidently forged ahead with one side of your shaping and completely skipped over the other shaping you were supposed to be doing, that’s right, AT THE SAME TIME.
Why are these words usually capitalized? It is so they jump off the page, hopefully flagging down the eager or careless knitter who might skim right by without noticing. This instruction is just one of the many reasons you should make a habit of reading a pattern, or at least a pattern section, before getting started. You can identify all sorts of things: techniques you might be unfamiliar with, supplies or notions you might need to have handy, areas you might need to modify and in this case, concurrent shaping directions that you need to be aware of. Norah and I would like to show you when this direction comes into play, as well as our tips for keeping track of it all.
I’ll use this week’s free pattern, Botany, as an example. AT THE SAME TIME crops on in the directions for the back, when you’re shaping the shoulder and the neck:
Shape Neck and Shoulders: Next Row (RS): Bind off 1(3-3-3-5-6) sts, k until there are 7(7-9-11-11-13) sts on RH needle, join another hank of yarn and bind off center 36 sts, k to end. Working both sides at once with separate hanks of yarn, bind off 1(3-3-3-5-6) sts at beg of the next row, then 2(2-3-4-4-5) sts at beg of the next 4 rows. AT THE SAME TIME, bind off 2 sts at each neck edge once, then dec 1 st at each neck edge every RS row once.
I like to make a list, or in this case a table (I have terrible handwriting and it wouldn’t help to show you my list):
I read through the pattern directions and list what needs to happen on each row for my size (first, I noted that I’ll need to bind off 3 stitches once, then at the beginning of the next 4 rows, a total of 5 times). I’ll also need to bind off 2 stitches at the neck edge, on the left neck edge on the RS rows and the right neck edge on the WS rows). After I’ve completed these rows, I need to decrease once at each neck edge but only on the right side rows, which is reflected in my list. I just cross off everything after I’ve done it and before I know it, I’m done! Easy.
Norah’s notes:
I like to make a diagrammatic representation of AT THE SAME TIME. I make a quick sketch of the piece I’m working on, especially when 2 or 3 things are happening at once – like armhole, neck and shoulder shaping. This way, I don’t have to keep searching in the written instructions for the the armhole shaping or the neck shaping, which I might easily get confused if I wasn’t reading carefully. I can glance at down at my sketch and know what’s next.
Anais, the pullover sketched above, has armhole and front neck shaping happening at the same time and then shoulder shaping pops in at the top, when you may or may not have the neck shaping completed. I very roughly drew an armhole, neck and shoulder, and then wrote in the shaping, using my own short hand. On the armhole, 5 means Bind off 5 stitches, and -1 x 8 means I make the one stitch decrease 8 times (the every RS row is implied because that’s normal). We all have our own quirks, so you use a notation you understand.
I think of the edges of my piece separately while I am knitting and take each edge as it comes. So, on the pullover above the first thing that happens on a RS row is the armhole. I look at the diagram, do what it says at the armhole. Then I work to the neck and do a neck decrease on one side, then the other side, then finish the row. The neck shaping and armhole shaping are symmetrical so I didn’t bother to draw out the second side of the neck or the second armhole. You could cross out or check off each bind off or dec as you do it so you’ll know what you’ve done already and know where you are. I never seem to have a pencil handy, or I am too lazy to get up so I always look at my work to see how many decreases or bind offs are already completed to determine where I am in the shaping. Sure, sometimes I need to look back at the written pattern to see just how I was supposed to work that decrease , but my diagram speeds things along and helps me keep my head straight. –NG
I hope these methods will help you in developing your own note-taking habits. A little bit of paper, a pencil and some planning can prevent a LOT of ripping.
Cheers,
CR
LENA!!
From left to right and top to bottom:
1 – Looking for new yarns to buy is fun any time, but imagine being able to gaze out this window at the same time.
2 – One booth at the yarn fair (Pitti Filati) was built around theme of kilims. I like the faded earthy colors.
3 – Beautifully and neatly wound pre-dyed top awaits its fate.
4 – Modern day spinning machinery, I love the repetition.
5 – Multiple vats of top are set in motion.
6 – Monanorah, or is it the Norahlisa? Silliness at the show
The highlight of my trip was the natural history museum. The special exhibit of crystals just may have had a great influence on NGvol7.
Did you see today’s free pattern? Biff is based on Baffin, a baby pattern from Booklet #292 DK Baby.
I was completely tickled to see this video from the NY Times. This booklet is for the fashion forward baby, yo!
CR
I have to show off some of the loot I scored at Christmas. When one of John’s daughters suggested that we all exchange handmade or recycled gifts (or any combination thereof) I wholeheartedly agreed and passed the idea on to the Gaughan side of the family as well. I made out big time.
Mom made me this cool, biologically inspired "needle" vase, which sits upon the GORGEOUS coffee table John fashioned from local oak slabs and planks.
The Ultra Alpaca hot pad Mom gave to John.
...and oh man, isn't this adorable? Mom's design for this "yarn ball" is simply brilliant. (That's Inca Gold being corralled.)
Hi everyone! It’s the end of the aughts! We’re almost in the tens! This is crazy. And I have some crazy good news for local knitters! I’m very excited to be teaching a workshop at the Slater Mill Knitting Weekend in Pawtucket, January 22-24th. I’ll be presenting a Berroco Trunk Show on Friday evening and on Saturday I’ll share the finishing tricks I’ve picked up over the years.
How has this decade been for you, knitting wise? I’ve known how to knit since I was 7 but when Debbie Stoller’s Stitch and Bitch guide hit the market in 2004, the game changed forever for me. It went from a quaint hobby to an all-encompassing lifestyle. That change was cemented when I joined the ranks of Ravelry in 2007. I’m forever grateful for this site since it allows all of us to feel like we’re in a vast (and TALENTED) community. Case in point? I recently posted some of my favorite Berroco accessories and the list was so long I decided to save my favorite cardigans for another day. That day is today!
A gorgeous Angela knit by Raveler Martel in Sundae (I recently finished a Sundae sweater in 24 hours!!)
Claire-Bennet, an original design in Peruvia by Raveler Ariane Caron-Lacoste. I love her adorable photography.
Next up is a pattern I truly wish I could knit for myself. It was designed by fellow Providence designer Deborah Newton, shown here knit by Lucy in Ultra Alpaca in a color I like to call “sweatshirt grey.” Such a pretty way to keep cozy!
I have a half-knit Treeline Striped Cardigan under my bed, but I was boring and started it in the very same colors shown in the original pattern. I love the winter fresh combination Elif chose–Peruvia in green and white.
Last but not least, this is a stunning Moch Cardi knit by Julia in Inca Gold. I can’t say enough about this pattern, this knitter, this yarn, it’s all good!! Very very good!
I don’t know about you, but I am really looking forward to finding a bit of down time during the holidays…to knit like MAD!!
Cheers,
Cirilia
I am a very lucky lady. It is part of my job to spend at least a few minutes everyday perusing Ravelry to see what is up in the knitting world. The sheer volume of greatness out there is kind of staggering! It’s especially fun when I spot Berroco FOs! Since I can’t share what’s on my needles (even though I really, really want to), here are the items I really wish I’d had a chance to knit for myself, things I wish I had in MY winter wardrobe. Hope they inspire you as well…
First up is a gorgeous accessory set from prolific sweater designer Connie Chang Chinchio. This FO was knit by Sarah from Scotland, who used less than 2 skeins of Ultra Alpaca!
Next up are Sniffle Mitts from the shop owner of Purl Diva! No pattern yet, but we suspect these are going to be HUGE in New England! She used just 1 skein of Ultra Alpaca.
The End of May Hat and End of May Mittens are yet another fantastic Ultra Alpaca project and perfect for colorwork lovers. The only difficult part is picking two shades–I love the combination Mandy has come up with (Tiger’s Eye Mix and Prune Mix, I believe).
I’ve also noticed a few Sundae FOs! Since Sundae knits at 2.5 stitches to the inch, there is still plenty of time to whip up a holiday gift using it, perhaps something from Booklet #287. That is where Joan found the pattern to knit Rickie for her adorable daughter (Joan also made a really cool looking Gondry–lucky daughter!)
While we’re looking at quick knitting hats, I have to point out I Come From the North, appropriately designed by Canadian designer Ariane Caron-Lacoste, who offers very cool translation services for knitters! She knit this very cute earflap hat with Peruvia Quick, another project you can whip up in an evening or two.
I’ll be back in a few days to share my favorite garments! Cheers,
Cirilia
Our art director discovered a fun little program called Pixelmator, which can transform an image or a small bit of an image into an elaborate all over pattern or a kaleidoscopic wonder. I am totally mesmerized by it too. Check out these transformations of our free pattern Baby Ferris (shown unaltered bottom right). Those baby feet are cute and kinda weird at the same time.
Update from Norah:
It’s always a thrill for the design team to see folks knitting and wearing our patterns. Imagine how cool it is to see a whole group of knitters in one of our designs. The Purl Diva did a KAL using Ditto, a free pattern originally knit in Latitude.
Liz knit hers in Vintage.
…and Susan made hers in Ultra Alpaca (in one of my very favorite colors)
I love the sleeve length on Susan’s, especially for Ultra Alpaca and it’s perfect on her. A shop KAL encourages folks to make modifications to suit their own style and needs and I am all for that!. You can see more versions on the Purl Diva blog. For those of you who didn’t catch it the first time, here’s a link to a movie of me wearing ditto at the trade show in Columbus (TNNA), back in June.
Among the Dittos on Ravelry: Ultra Alpaca and Latitude.
I’d love to see images from some other Berroco KAL’s – send em along !
–Norah
