KNITTING WITH JACKIE

Hiya! I am knitting a shawl!!!  Since I began knitting, I have produced two shawls.  I have actually avoided knitting them because I couldn't understand the " shawl craze "  .   I thought that it would end soon; but, to my surprise, it has gotten more intense.   I could not understand it, why so many knitters are bothering with knitting a scarf?   After all you can purchase a lovely scarf for $20.00 or less.   Why knit one?     It’s so much work.   Why spend $$$ on handspun yarn in order to get a finished product? It’s not economical. As a knitter, I know that knitting is more than dollar, cents or time.   The act of knitting is a strange combination of relaxation and activism, of protest and tradition, of creating beautiful things.   There’s something very peaceful about performing a simple, repetitive act with one's finger. Knitting a shawl provides an opportunity to try new stitches and/or techniques in a sma...

Hiya! This pattern,  Tegna by Caitlin Hunter,   came to my notice while visiting a local yarn shop in Emmaus, Pennsylvania called Conversational Threads Fiber and Art Studio .  As I was browsing, one of the employees was knitting this in linen ( The Loom Speck ).  The knitted lace pattern was very impressive.  I decided then to add this to my list of projects; h owever, I knew that did not want to knit it in linen.   After knitting the last dress for my granddaughter, Elena, I decided it was time for a change and knit somethings for myself.  So, while I was at my local yarn store, Four Purls (my husband and I moved to Kissimmee, Florida last December), I found this lovely hand dyed yarn from Theodora's Pearls - Auxanometer in Platinum.  This is gorgeously soft yarn with a wonderful sheen. I was able to get closest to gauge (one stitch off)using size three needles; therefore, I will begin with the large size.  I will make t...

Hiya! Well, I am on to the next dress.  I have to admit that all this knitting for Elena has reduced my stash - which is a wonderful thing.  Since moving to Florida, I have lost a basement as well as my knitting room.  Therefore, I have stashed yarn everywhere I can find. Back to the dress.  The pattern is called "Madison May" by Taiga Hilliard Designs and it is knitted in sizes several sizes (newborn through 3 years of age).  With Elena growing nicely and is now 5 months, I choose the 6-12 months.   I stared the dress using Klaus Koch Kollection, CLIP. It is a lovely Egypt 100 cotton yarn.  I only had two 100 grams; therefore, I needed to add more.  The pattern calls for 400 grams.  So, I returned to my stash and found Fil D'Ecosse #3, Pingouin, in color 45.  It was a little darker; but, I thinks it looks great. Just binding off.  Will be ready to shipped to my daughter later next week. Enjoy Knitting Each Day...

Hiya! As I finished the latest sweater for Elena, my daughter placed a request for a dress.  So, I went on Raverly and found several lovely patterns for our little one. The first is a pattern called "Sweet Baby Dress" by Nancy Pietraszek .  This little dress is knitted from the top down.  It begins with knitting the yoke flat, then joined in the round with the sleeves placed on waste yarn.  The body is worked in the round in stockinette stitch with eyelet borders with garter stitch at the hem. I decided to make this dress in a "machine washable" yarn so that my daughter could easily take care of it.  In checking my stash, I realized that I have very little "machine washable" yarn.  So, I purchased "Cotton Fair" by Premier in Bright Peach (27-07).  This yarn is a smooth cotton blend containing 52% cotton and 48% acrylic.  I have started the dress and thus far,  completed the yoke and tops of the sleeves.  I just started...

Hiya!! Guess What?  I started something new for me.... This is an pattern, Hapi Wrap , that I received from my local yarn shop in Pennsylvania, Yarnings.  A group of us was excited to see the finished garment.  We tried it on and several of us purchased the yarn. By the time I purchased the yarn, the color that I wanted was not available; therefore, the owner of the shop ordered it for me.  When it arrived, it had more gray in it than black.  I returned it to Interlacements , yarn called: Rick Rack.  Unfortunately, when I received it, it still did not looked more gray than black.  I decided to keep it anyway and started making the garment.  The pattern has quite simple and contains instructions for three different sizes.  I decided to make the middle size; however, I still will not make it as long as outlined.  I am assuming that this garment will grow the more you wear it. I have finished the back and started on the l...

Hiya, While, I am progressing with the Tea Leaf Sweater by Bristol Ivy from Craftys.   As you can see, I am finished the right and left fronts with pockets; and the back.  I have also completed the short rows.  The pattern called for the use of short rows.  What are short-rows ? They’re exactly what they sound like: partial rows in the knitting that create curves, soft angles, and depth. Short-rows are an invaluable technique that allow the knitter to create modern, seamless knitwear that is both engaging to knit and flattering to wear. Some of the most common methods of working short-rows are called: (1) the wrap and turn method , (2) the yarnover method , (3) the German method and the Japanese method.   This pattern called for the use of the  Japanese Short Row method.  This method produces extremely tidy results in stockinette stitch, garter stitch, and reverse stockinette stitch. Stitches are worked to the desired tu...

Hiya, I have been knitting away in stockinette so that I reach the armhole.  I have divided the fabric into  the left front, back and right  front. Now, I am ready to do the Japanese short rows.  I have seen a few different takes on Japanese short rows, but the version for this pattern is the most straightforward way to work them. The only special tools you’ll need are two safety pins or two locking stitch markers. You don’t want to use an open removable stitch marker as it may slip off the yarn as you work.   For more information, Staci from VeryPink Knit , shows a great way of performing these short rows.    The end results  is smooth fabric.  The Japanese method in my opinion is the tidiest on both the RS and WS, since the absence of wraps and YOs means that there’s very little excess yarn. It does take a bit longer to work because you have to place and remove the marker that indicates where to pull up a loop, but it’s simp...