Fun Post at My Blue Heaver Knits

Read this for fun:  A Crafter's Story of Anger Management

Personal disclaimer:  My obsessive knitting is because I love to knit.  Thank goodness, it's not because I'm angry at John!

When I'm angry at John, he knows it...   :)

Inspiration from Synnove

Synnove is making some beautiful hats, here, using sideways hand knitting:

http://rettogvrangstrikk.blogspot.com/2015/03/prematurstrikk.html

At Last - "Knitter's Finishing School" is Available!

Finish your knits expertly!  The Knitter's Finishing School - Video Course is now available, a resource for all knitters, beginners, experts, hand and machine knitters alike.

Wouldn't you love to just relax and enjoy the sewing up process on your knits, confident that you can assemble them expertly? This set of videos has the information to help you make your investment of time and materials turn out as beautifully as possible and give your projects a "blue ribbon" finish.

This course is also a resource for when you encounter some of the less common situations, like making horizontal, invisible ribbing grafts.  You can use this course by making swatches and practicing the techniques, or as a reference when you need a specific technique.  Perhaps you'd like to show it at your club meetings and then practice with your friends.

Note that I do some things in about the same way as any other knitting teacher, but I also do a lot of things with a different approach.  Some more experienced knitters may enjoy seeing a different way to do the job, especially if it helps make the seams invisible.

I have longed to produce a course like this for years, as I listened to knitters talk about their finishing experiences and their need for up-close lessons.  The two DVDs have over four hours of video lessons, all hand assembly techniques.

Here are the contents:

Disk One: 

Mattress Stitch:  In the photo, that's an underarm shot of the side seam done with one-row mattress.  Mattress is the way to get side seams that are invisible on the right side.
 
I show mattress on stockinette stitch, on reverse stockinette, on a shaped edge, and along a full-fashion decrease edge.  Later on the disk, I work it with knit one, purl one ribbing and knit two purl two ribbing, just showing how to plan ahead or even adjust so the ribbing forms an unbroken pattern.

Hide Yarn Ends:  A lesson on hiding ends with a needle and then one using the latch tool.

Kitchener Stitch (Grafting):  Kitchener is a stitch that acts just like a row of knitting, but is sewn in with a needle, for a wonderful invisible seam.  The videos teach purl side grafting, knit side grafting, and Kitchener for a growth line in children's garments.  Did you know that you can graft ribbing invisibly, as long as you can graft from waste yarn at the bottom of a piece to waste yarn at the top? We start grafting ribbing with knit one, purl one and go on to knit two, purl two ribbing.

Disk Two:

Grafting Ribs Top to Top:  I begin by demonstrating the challenge of grafting pieces of knitting with open top stitches, showing how knit one, purl one doesn't work out well if grafted in the usual way, because the stitches will be offset by a half stitch.  Instead, there's a method called the "four-needle graft" that I show using a waste yarn string through the stitches that gives a virtually invisible graft.

Mobius Scarf and Garter Grafting:  Garter stitch is easy to graft invisibly, and there just had to be one project on the disk.  I have a simple, hand knitted garter stitch Mobius scarf (with nice, big easy-to-see stitches) that I begin and end on waste yarn and use to demonstrate the Kitchener Stitch on garter stitch. 

Right Angle Seams:  This is a mattress stitch for those situations where the two pieces are quite unlike, but you still want them to look even and tidy.

Knit 3, Purl 3 Graft Top to Top:  Here's how to deal with wider ribs that need grafted top to top.

Three-Needle Bind Off:  Using knitting needles, I demonstrate the three-needle bind-off.  I call some of these seams "dent" seams, and I like invisible ones better, but this is an easy technique when you need a sturdy seam.

Crochet Seam Like Three-Needle Bind Off:  I demonstrate this two ways, taking the stitches off knitting needles and also by working from waste yarn.

Zipper Installed in a Seam:  Having problems getting zippers in so they're not wavy?  I baste the seam and use that to keep the knitting from stretching out, then remove the basting later.  Just for fun, I use some Liquid Stitch to baste the zipper fabric to the inside of the knitting (test that stuff, first, okay?  And make sure you don't get it on the coil.)

Separating Jacket Zipper:  Here's an exposed coil installation of a separating jacket zipper, positioned with hand basting, then machine sewed.

Blocking:  Here is how to use blocking wires, pinning out to measurements, and then an explanation of several methods of blocking.  I demonstrate steam blocking.

Armhole Seam:  This segment shows how to sew in a seam with mattress stitch.

Bands and buttonholes:  I show how to pick up and knit a band along a vertical edge, how to pick one up along a horizontal edge, and the math behind those processes.  I show how to make a doubled neckband.  (Warning:  I used knitting needles here, because I wanted this course to be for all knitters.) Then I demonstrate three garter stitch buttonholes and two ribbed band buttonholes.

PRICING:  The two-DVD course is $25 plus shipping.  This course contains over four hours of high definition video that looks crisp and clear even on a humongous television screen, showing how to do the techniques with detailed, up-close views.

SHIPPING:  We mail items each weekday using U. S. Postal Service.  In the United States, we charge $3 to ship an order.  If you need other items, you can save on shipping - when a customer orders more than one item at the same time, additional items are shipped free of charge.  My other items are at www.dianaknits.com. 

I love my international customers, but shipping is different - please see the www.dianaknits.com page for information about international shipping. 

      

Easter Inspiration

Over at Knotty Knits and Naughty Kids, Rabbits!

http://tracykm.blogspot.com/2015/03/multiplying-like-rabbits.html

And an Easter Bunny for MKers to knit quickly.

http://diananatters.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-video-today-machine-knitted-bunny.html

Inspiration from Rita

Rita is a wonderful lady and prolific knitter.  Check out these terrific baby sets she has knitted for charity:

http://machine-knitting-in-raleigh.blogspot.com/2015/03/charity-knitting.html

Inspiration at Art Machines

Scroll down just a bit to see Anna's ruched hat:

http://www.art-machines.ru/2015/03/blog-post.html

This is EASY on the knitting machine.  The stripes would help you pick up the correct row of stitches for the ruching.

Inspiration at Marnie's

I think this Droid Sweater is really cute:

http://marniemaclean.com/blog/#.VQWBtTM5BOw

Inspiration at Carissa Knits

I really like the hand knit scarf best, but she has another interesting piece here:

http://www.carissaknits.com/2015/03/whatcha-working-on.html

And I know why I like the scarf so much - it's the beautiful color!

Inspiration at Simple Knits - Winter Hood

Here's a warm hood project at Simple Knits, terrific use for a small amount of warm novelty yarn.  She sells her patterns, and I'm always seeing very nice projects at her site:

http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2015/03/it-be-winter-hood-to-knit.html

Inspiration from Marg - Tea Cozy

Isn't this cute (and looks fast and easy, too), over at Marg's Knitting Place:

http://margsknittingplace.blogspot.com/2015/03/tea-cozy-recently-i-saw-cute-toque-in.html

Knitting for a thinner me

One of the challenges of losing all that weight is my lack of things to wear that I actually knitted myself.  I broke down and got rid of some of my knits that are much too big now; having made them and loved them, it was difficult to give them up.  A couple others expired due to old age, just worn out.  I had a couple of classic items, knitted ages ago in sturdy synthetic fibers, that are very wearable now, but I want to knit myself some new things.

I am doing so many things that are important to me, including working at my terrific nonprofit job, hanging out with my husband, answering reader emails, teaching seminars, planning for seminars, and writing the next product (I'm currently almost finished with "Finishing School," a 2-DVD set with an extensive set of sweater assembly and finishing technique lessons for both hand and machine knitters) that I don't have much time to knit for myself.

I am realizing, trying on and purchasing retail clothing, that a slim person wants completely different sweaters.  I have to learn and adapt.  I need less ease, now, obviously, but I also want a little more length than I used to prefer.  And, I feel cold weather and air conditioning so much more now that I want much warmer things. 

I actually knitted two sweaters that aren't fully assembled, and I think I'll celebrate the completion of "Finishing School" by doing some finishing of my own!  Also, I've acquired some  luscious mohair yarn from a Webs sale.  I suppose it'll be springtime before I get all this done, but heck, these Texans do love their air conditioning so much that I need a sweater along most places I go.  Maybe the new mohair needs to be a cardigan. 

Along the way, I came up with an idea for a simpler way to do an enclosed "industrial" neckband, using a ribber.  The rose sweater I'm making has my first attempt at it, and I folded the turtle neck up to photograph the spot where it joins the sweater.  Maybe I'll get this shortcut into a video soon. 

New Video for March - Super Easy Decorative Anti-Roll Edge

This month, I have a quick little video showing how to make an easy decorative anti-roll edge.  This would be good in lots of situations!