A Fair Isle Knitting Tip to Try

This is an interesting tip that I just got in a newsletter from the people at The Knit Kit. If you are having problems tackling Fair Isle (2-color knitting) technique, this tip might be helpful! Try it on a small sampler so you can master it first. It seems like trying this in the round on a hat or something even smaller might be easier than doing it in rows.

Worked flat: You will need circular or double-pointed needles to work a flat piece in this technique. Work across the row, knitting every stitch in color A and slipping as if to purl every stitch that is in color B. At the end of the row and without turning, slide the stitches back to the right side needle, pick up color B, work every slipped stitch in color B, slipping the already worked stitches in A.

Work in the round: Simply work all of the color A stitches (slipping as if to purl the stitches that will be color B), then work a second round of color B (slipping as if to purl the stitches that are color A).

Remember to vote for you favorite shawl! Voting ends on Wednesday, June 1st.

If you are among the many people out there that want to learn to crochet, check out our beginning crochet class. It will be a 2 session class, on Tuesday evenings, June 28 & July 5 from 6-8pm. We will include a skein of yarn and a crochet hook as part of the class fee. Tasha W (a.k.a. neon628 on Ravelry) will be the teacher. She loves to knit, but loves to crochet even MORE!

Keep on knitting & crocheting, too!

Relax, stretch, and knit!

On our January Friday Night Knit Club (FNKC) our theme was all about rest, relax, and renew. We had a spa night and partnered with Salon Bliss who is our neighbor, two doors down from our shop. They did paraffin hand waxing on everyone and showed them all of the wonderful amenities of their salon. Then everyone came back to our shop and one of our customers, Carrie Cavanaugh, who is a licensed massage therapist, kindly gave the ladies hand and forearm massages. Need I tell you how heavenly it was?

Carrie also shared some great tips and stretches for knitters who are having hand and arm pain while knitting. I've decided to include Carrie's tips and stretches (minus the actual demonstration that she showed us). Thank you, Carrie!

Tips

• If a pain arises, take a short break to do some stretches, clean, run errands, make a phone call, etc.
• If pain becomes chronic, take a few days off to allow your hands, wrists, etc. to heal.
• Make a point of taking breaks to prevent pain from occurring.
• Use circular needles instead of straight needles whenever you can! Circulars bring your work closer to the middle of your body, reducing the torque placed on your arms and shoulders.
• Watch your posture! Do your best to keep your back in a relaxed, but not slouched position. (Boy did this speak volumes to me!)
• Sit up as straight as you can. Your neck should be straight, elbows should be at your sides, and wrists straight or slightly flexed in.
• Taking breaks helps to keep your posture by allowing your muscles to rest.

Stretching
It's very important to understand how a stretch should feel. A good, effective stretch shouldn't hurt. As you go into a stretch you should feel tension building up until you feel the stretch begin. The beginning of the stretch is where you want to hold it. If you strengthen a stretch too much you lose the relaxing feeling you get from it. When muscles are over-stretched, they have a tendency to contract or spasm, causing the potential for injury.

Gently hold stretches for 8-10 seconds.

Warm up muscles before stretching by shaking your hands and rolling your joints (wrists and shoulders), to get the blood moving.

The Stretches

• Extensors (the tops of the forearms) - With your hand face up, wrap your finders around your thumb into a fist and brind your hand towards you with your opposite hand, bending at the wrist.
• Flexors (the bottom of your forearms) - With your hand face down and flat, use your opposite hand to lift your hand and fingers backwards, bending at the wrist.
• Biceps Brachii (front of your upper arm) - Find a wall, and while standing, place the backside of your hand against the wall. Turn your body away while keeping your arm close to the wall.
• Pectoralis Major (chest) - Use the same technique for biceps, but place your palm on the wall instead.

If pain persists even after trying Carrie's tips and stretches, SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR to rule out any serious conditions. They can offer options such as physical therapy or massage therapy, medication suggestions or prescriptions, or additional home care tips you might not have tried.

If you're interested in getting a massage, visit Carrie's website for more information! She left a corporate massage business and just opened her own business, so we'd like to help her get started.

Keep on knitting (after stretching occasionally)!

The Wrap Group -- July/Aug #5

It's been a little while since I blogged. This is mainly due to being super busy unpacking and shelving lots of lovely new yarns! I'm sure you can forgive me for that one good reason.

It's looking like fall in the shop, but still feeling a whole lot like summer. We've had record heat and record rains that have caused flooding in Iowa. My heart goes out to all the poor people in Ames, Colfax, and other parts of Iowa that have lost so many things in their really soggy homes. I keep hoping that the rain is over, but it sounds like there's more coming today and tonight and that it could affect the Des Moines River and in the long run affect the people here in my hometown.

As for the Simple Yet Effective Shawl, we are close to winding down. I wanted to talk about the blocking process for this triangle shaped shawl. If your shawl made from a wool or a wool blend yarn, you can totally wet the shawl; then you need to roll it in towels and gently squeeze out most of the water before shaping it. You don't want to stretch it as that can cause it to be misshapen. Lay out the shawl on several large towels and gently spread it out making sure that there aren't any lumps and bumps in the shawl. Check the edges to make sure that they are smooth and straight. You can use T-pins to hold the final shape of the shawl in place, but make sure that the pins don't pull bumps out along the edge. Since this shawl is a combination of stockinette stitch and garter stitch you need to push the garter edges in and gently pull the stockinette edges out so they are all even. Allow the shawl to dry completely before you remove the pins. Depending on the yarn, you can sometimes merely steam the shawl, shape it, and allow it to dry on a towel. The Rowan Colourscape Chunky yarn that I used is perfect for the steaming method. That yarn shapes easily with steaming. Other yarns may require a total dunk in water or else you'll still have curling of the edges.

If you're in our neighborhood, be sure to stop in and check out the new yarns. We still have lots to come, but for now I know you'll love what you see.

Keep on knitting!

The Wrap Group -- July/Aug #2

Hi Wrappers!

I really like the look and feel of my completed Simple Yet Effective Shawl. I love the Rowan Colourscape Chunky yarn so much! But I did discover some technical things that I would change on my next shawl. When you work the wrong side rows, knit or purl the yarnovers (yos) that are along the shawl edge through the back loops so the holes close. Maybe it's just me, but I don't care for the yos along the edge! I also didn't like the inconsistency of the bumps on the center stitch of the garter sections. I would always Purl the center stitch on the wrong side of ALL sections.

I hope you are staying busy with your knitting. Stop by the shop and check out my Simple Yet Effective Shawl.

Nancy

The Wrap Group -- May/June #1

Hey Wrappers!

I'm in love with our May-June Wrap, using the Feather and Fan pattern, also known as Old Shale. This is so adaptable to many types of yarns. The recipe calls for four different textures of yarn to make a generous wrap about 16" x 78". It's a fun way to try some of the new and different yarns Nancy's been getting in. I'll be in the store today from 1-3pm to help you pick out yarns. If you can't make it in, write a comment on this post letting me know what you are thinking and we can play with some ideas. For further inspiration, check out one of my favorite artists at http://www.janethornley.com/.

You can find the printable pdf pattern here. You can also find it in the free pattern section on the side bar of this blog. Below you will see another exciting video tip, teaching you how to knit in your ends. We think you will find it helpful as you change from yarn to yarn.

The Wrap Group -- Mar/Apr #3

Hi Wrappers!

In this project we use a triple dropped stitch. For those of you who are wondering how this stitch works or for those of you who are a little scared to drop the stitches, we have created a how-to video to show you the process of the triple dropped stitch! Enjoy and let us know if you have any other questions or comments!

Wrap On!

Protect your wools & silks from moths!

Knitting Tip #4
It's one of the things that I periodically preach about, but clothes moths will eat your yarn and sweaters. They will lay eggs in your unprotected wool, silk, and wool- and silk-blend yarns and clothing. The hatched larvae will eat your yarn and make holes in your clothing! You can get an infestation in your closets and they will get into your sweaters if you don't protect them! Think of all that lovely work gone awry... You can buy clothes moth pheromone traps that hang in your closets and interrupt the mating cycle, thus ending their horrible lives. (I wonder what IS the clothes moths purpose on earth other than to eat clothes!?) If you encounter eggs and larvae, be sure to try the traps. You'll want to treat every closet that has woolens in them, and replace the traps every 3 months for awhile. Vacuum the closet and infested areas thoroughly (can you say Yuck?) at least once every week to get the eggs and larvae out of there.

Clothes moths are attracted to human oil scents and to the smell of the wool. So an important part of caring for your finished sweaters is to wash them often in a wool wash such as Eucalan (which we love and carry in the shop). There are other good wool washes out there such as Soak and Kookaburra, but please DON'T use Woolite. It's not good for your fabrics. Remember to wash every woolen article that you've worn over the winter before storing them. I store scarves, hats, and mittens in plastic bins over the summer. You could also store your sweaters in plastic bags or bins, as well! An extra ounce of protection will save you more than you can imagine. If you have a garment that has holes in it from moths you can launder the garment and mend it, but the mending can be difficult!

Now on to your yarn closet: Keep your yarn in plastic freezer bags and/or plastic bins and store sachets made with strong scents such as lavender, cinnamon, eucalyptus, menthol, etc. in the boxes. The scents confuse clothes moths, and hide the delicious wool scent from them. Avoid moth balls as they are a pesticide that probably isn't good for you.

In Iowa we are hopefully awaiting warmer weather. In the event that it arrives I thought I would pass on advice for protecting your yarn and handknits.

Keep on knitting!

Knitting Tip #3

Yesterday we had our 5th weather related school closing for this year. We had lots of ice and way too much rain (which has no where to go)! Our poor kids will be in school way into June at this point. Tim and I came into the shop in the morning, but soon decided we wouldn't have any customers with the ice, so we worked on a few things in the morning and went home for the rest of the day, where it was nice and cozy for my knitting. Tim on the other hand enjoyed his project of 2010: ORGANIZING AND CLEANING OUR BASEMENT! After 14 years of living in the same house, we have lots of "stuff" to go through and get rid of. Speaking of ORGANIZING, I've got a good organizational knitting tip for you!

Tip #3
Every knitter should have a tool kit that they can carry with them in their knitting bag. You can create your own tool kit by gathering the following tools together: tape measure, point protectors in varying sizes, crochet hooks in several sizes (A, F & J handle most issues) for latching up dropped stitches, large-eye tapestry needles, stitch holders and/or waste yarn, stitch markers, locking stitch markers or coilless safety pins, a locking row counter, and round-tip scissors (children's school scissors work well for T.S.A. approval). Toss them into a small make-up bag that you may have gotten from a "free" gifts with a purchase from Clinique or other make-up brand.

Most knitters have multiple project bags going, so when you grab your "bag of the day," just take your tool kit and toss it into the new knitting bag and go. You'll have everything you need.

Another great tool kit option is to purchase The Knit Kit. It has most of the above items all attached or enclosed in it's hard plastic case.

Happy knitting,
Nancy

Tips for the New Year

In 2010 I'm going to offer you knitting tips that I've discovered. Some are ones I've actually stumbled on by doing them because I didn't like what I was seeing, and some will be ones that I've read or heard from others. Since you are well aware that I love to knit socks, I think my first two tips will relate to sock knitting. If you don't knit socks, these may not make sense to you. If you do someday decide to knit socks you will discover that these two tips you will help you achieve a more professional finish.

Tip #1 (socks)
Count the number of rows you knit on the heel flap (how many rows you slipped the first stitch on the knit and the purl sides). If you knit 36 rows you will have 18 slip stitches on each side of the heel flap. That tells me I would pick up and knit 18 stitches along the heel flap; then I would pick up and knit one more near the corner by the instep stitches. That extra stitch will often close any holes or gaps that can occur there. On the second side of the heel flap you will pick up and knit the extra stitch right after you knit across the instep stitches; then pick up the remaining 18 stitches.

Tip #2 (socks)
On the round after you've picked up the stitches along the heel, knit the picked-up stitches through the back loops. Doing this keeps the stitches tight against the heel flap. (This round is also a decrease round, but I do my decreases as called for in my pattern. I don't bother with changing them, since they close up any gaps that you might have from the picked-up stitches.)

FYI: I just got a really nice thank-you note from my nephew's wife, Karie. She loved the socks I knitted for her, and even wore them to a New Year's Eve pajama party (with her slippers)! Of course living in southern California you can run around in your pajamas, socks and slippers. In Iowa we'd have had to wear socks (possibly two pairs, long underwear pants and top, pajamas, ski pants, boots and down parka!

Happy Knitting,
Nancy