I’ve been a member for many many years and have loved attending class at this one day event.
This year I’m taking a full day class on Saami Mittens. I love knitting mittens and I’m looking forward to adding a new style to my collection. Every year for I try to knit myself a new pair of mittens – this year I’ll be starting them in April!
I finally got my pattern for Kathy’s Earflap Hat edited and up for sale on Ravelry!
Earflap hat with Twined Brim and earflaps.
It is such a cute hat! And it includes twined knitting, which I adore!
I can’t remember where I was first introduced to twined knitting but I immediately fell in love with the beautiful patterning and durability of the knitting. wait – now I remember. I was browsing the knitting books at my local library and found this great book, “Twined Knitting A Swedish Folkcraft Technique” by Birgitta Dandanell and Ulla Danielsson. The photos are fabulous and I couldn’t get over the beautiful white on white designs. I wanted this book for my personal library but to my dismay the book was out of print and the cost ran 96$ and up. Luckily I have a big (and generous) family and they all went in together and purchased this great book for me.
I am always inspired when I wander through this book.
A friend of mine wanted me to knit her a cap, an earflap cap specifically, to match a beautiful woven scarf of her mother’s that had a great art deco sort of weave. . . angels and squares and subtle texture. I thought that working in twined knit would provide the perfect opportunity to create subtle texture designs. Kathy’s one of a kind hat is done in black and turned out great!
I’ve knit many earflap hats with twined brims since this one and have written a pattern for a traditional pattern that is fun and easy to follow.
If you’ve never done twined knitting before I include a description in the pattern. There are also many youtube videos on twined knitting. In twined knitting you use two strands of yarn from the same skein,and as you knit you wrap each stitch around the next, alternating between the two strands. Yes, the result is a twisted skein of yarn, but I find that taking breaks to untwist the skein is as relaxing as the knitting. I use a double pointed needle, making an s-twist around it with both ends of yarn, then hold up the ends and watch the ball of yarn spin around and “untwist”. It’s fun!
My pattern also includes line by line directions, and graphs – you can follow which ever one works for you!
I just finished these beauties and even though we haven’t had 70 degree weather for 9 months I want it to be cold again right now so I can wear these mittens. These are knit in Harrisville Highland Light Shetland, which I found to be the perfect weight for Twined Knitting.
Twined mitts made for me
I can’t remember how I was introduced to twined knitting but I think it is gorgeous. The technique requires knitting with two strands of yarn and wrapping every stitch. The band around the cuff is done in knit and purl stitches with the yarn being carried across the outside of the knitting. These mitts are super warm, flexible and fit like a glove:)
I finished these socks in 3 days!!
I’m celebrating a friend’s birthday tonight (Friday) and on Tuesday I thought how lovely it would be to give him a pair of hand knit socks. . . so here they are. . . on my old feet.
I used Harrisville Designs Highland yarn on size 3 needles. They are a sturdy pair of socks!
I love the variety of colors available by Harrisville Designs!
I love to knit mittens and hats from the top down! Starting at the top provides me the opportunity to keep trying it on as I go. . . and my projects always turn out the right length.
Here is a video of a really nice cast on that I have started using to get a sweet flower at the top of my hats and mittens.
I used this method for this hat –
I’m a big fan of fulling and felting too. These mitts are knit using two strands of Galway wool and US 17 circular needles, then fulled to fit.
I’m working on a pattern that explains how I knit mittens from the top down. . it will include directions for this fulled mitten, which by the way is super warm and great to wear in MN winters while waiting for the bus! This could also be used as an oven mitt.
A while back a friend mentioned she wanted a classy, black, earflap hat to wear with her “good” coat. She showed my the ecru 1940s art deco style silk scarf that she wears with this coat. A lovely design is woven into the scarf and I decided to try to match it on the brim of the hat. I wanted something that would be warm and with a nice firm brim and earflaps.
Result – twined knitting – with raised stitches.
I fell in love with twined knitting about a year ago, and my family chipped in and bought me Twined Knitting, A Swedish Folkcraft Technique by Birgitta Dandanell & Ulla Danielsson. (an out of print 96$ purchase!!).
So I read the book and figured out how to make raised stitch designs and the black hat pictured here was the result. I don’t remember what yarn I used for that hat.
After knitting several hats I’ve decided a nice spungey, springy yarn, with lots of body works best when knit on a smaller size needle than recommended on the label.
I’m happy to knit you one in the color of your choice! 50 colors to choose from in Harrisiville Shetland! Shoot me a comment for more details.
I am writing the pattern using the wavy raised stitch design for publication seen on the other hats pictured here.
This January the editor of Patternfish newsletter became intrigued with a new technique I’m developing – a new way of putting knit and purl rows together. I’ve written three patterns using this technique and she featured them in the newsletter.
Take a look!(Scroll down the newsletter a bit to find me)
Gayle found my knitted brass piece on my blog and included that in the bottom of the newsletter too.
I love days like this!
The most current pattern I’ve written using this technique is called Anna Dorothy – in honor of my maternal grandmother.
I adored my Grandma, Dorothy, and after she died we found her birth certificate: she was christened Anna Dorothy. Knowing this makes me miss her more.
I love the local library! I found a gem of a book titled,”Latvian Dreams, Knitting from Weaving Patterns” by Joyce Williams. It was full of charts with geometric designs. The sweater patterns in the book were fashioned after the gansey, very little shaping, with the focus on the two color patterns. The sweater is knit in a traditional style of knitting in the round and using steeks at armholes and collar.
I decided to try the “High Park Pullover”. In the book it is shown in blue and white – but I think (and am hoping) that I have enough fine weight alpaca to knit this (with long sleeves). Years ago I bought tons of alpaca yarn from Richness Alpaca. I’ve been looking for a project to use it all up and I have found it!
I am racing the snow – my goal is to be wearing this sweater the first time I shovel!
15 more rows and I am at the collar!
The first inch of rows were the hardest. Now that I have figured out the repeats I don’t have to look at every stitch on the chart while knitting. I’ve had to frog a few rows but luckily not too often.
Bottom of alpaca hand knit sweater
The book has a fun approach to the sweater patterns. Charts show the geometric patterns in the shape of the sweaters. Gauges for different weight yarns are listed and depending on which yarn you use you adjust the pattern by number of repeats. For my sweater I added 20 stitches to the charted pattern in order to get the correct size – One 10st repeat for the front and one for the back.
Alpaca sweater, center stitches
I can’t wait to get to the sleeve – see how clever the design is where the sleeves meets the body of the sweater! I’ll have to walk around waving my arms in the air to show it off.
Photo of underarm for High Park pullover
I can get one round done in about 20 minutes. The sweater is charted at 270 rows. . . (not including the sleeves, I haven’t looked at those yet) I don’t want to do the math! I’m planning on working both sleeves at the same time because I’ll have to tweak the pattern and also because I’m not sure how far my different colors of yarn will stretch. Knitting both sleeves at the same time will help me use up the yarn and make sure the sleeves look the same. The sleeves are worked from the top down, picking up sts at the armholes and working down to the cuffs, and that’s a lot of fabric on my lap. Doing both sleeves at the same time prevents sleeve slap (that happens while turning the sweater to knit the second sleeve and the one that is done swings around and slaps you).
I love allforloveofyarn! Angela’s colors are great and the variegation doesn’t pool!
This cowl was knit in Eloquence–70% Bluefaced Leicester, 20%silk, 10% cashmere. It is super soft and drapy, light yet warm!
here’s how I knit it:
1 skein-100gms/430 yds fingering weight yarn.
Gauge: 7sts/11rows=1″. Cowl is 23″ around/15″ long.
US Size 2 needles (for working in the round) cast on 192 stitches. Join being careful not to twist stitches.
Rows 1-3, (K10, p1, k2, p1, k10) 8 times.
Row 4 (K10, p1, k2tog and DO NOT take off needle, knit into first stitch again and remove both stitches, p1, k10) 8 times. Repeat these four rows until desired length or until you have about 3 yards left, bind off loosely.
I took some photos and was visited by my friend Molly Brown. it took me a while to get her attention. There was a trick in the shape of a little green ball.
