Entrelac Knitting: Tips, Tricks, and Lessons Learned

By erika on 9/1/10 12:33pm
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If you love turning your knitting and constantly either decreasing or increasing, then entrelac knitting is for you!  Entrelac is considered an intermediate technique, but don't let that scare you off.  If you can decrease (with p2tog, k2tog, or ssk) and pick up stitches, then you can work entrelac.

I was first introduced to the concept of entrelac knitting by Danica, a scarf pattern published in Knitty.  Danica's designer, Jesse Loesberg, is a technical writer by trade - and it shows.  I often recommend this pattern for beginning entrelac knitters, due to its clear instructions and great results.  (And out of all the scarves I've knit over the years, Danica is still my go-to scarf, some five years after knitting it.)


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Knitting Techniques: Short Rows

By erika on 8/27/10 2:44pm
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Short rows are something that intimidated me as a beginning knitter, before I tried them.  

My first introduction to short rows was the Fiber Trends "Huggable Hedgehog."  I fell in love with the little guy at a fiber festival display table.  I had to have it.  Small problem: pretty much the entire thing is made up of short rows.  But I loved him so much that I took a deep breath and launched right in.

You know what?  It wasn't so scary after all.  As is almost always the case, in my experience!


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Holiday Gift Knitting Patterns

By erika on 8/19/10 3:22pm
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On the heels of yesterday's somewhat alarming post, I wanted to follow up with some of my favorite gift knitting patterns.  Certainly we have plenty of time left before the holidays, but let's be honest - for most of the people on your list, the faster you can knit it, the better!

Watch Cap
A watch cap is my standard go-to knit present.  I like to start out by giving everyone one of these, and from there I go to a fancier hat pattern if they seem interested. 

This is a super boring thing to knit, but my experience has been that people LOVE them.  


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Holiday Knitting: Is It Time To Start?

By erika on 8/18/10 3:12pm
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Would you hate me if I admitted that I only have one more thing to knit, and then I'm finished with my holiday knitting?  Very well, then; I won't say it.  

At any rate, I can attest that planning your knitting ahead of time is AWESOME.  You might not think so, but it's true.  Don't let this be the year when you have to wake up early Christmas morning to finish sewing seams!  

The only thing you need for this project is a pen, paper, and some quiet time so that you can sit and think.  10-15 minutes will do the trick.  


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5 Quick Yarn Stash-Busting Ideas

By erika on 8/5/10 4:57pm
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Stash-busting!  I like to say it with Jazz Hands!  Let's do it!

1.    Stripes
Got a bunch of single skeins of yarn where you need two skeins to make something?  Try stripes!  You can create a pretty great scarf by striping yarns of two different thicknesses, or the same yarn but in two different colors, or one boring yarn and one novelty yarn.  Same color, different color, same fiber, different fiber - the sky's the limit, here!


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White Folks In Knitting Books

By erika on 8/4/10 1:57pm
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Are all knitters white?  No - but you'd never guess that by flipping through most knitting books.

My friends and fellow knitters, I have gathered you here today to talk about the preponderance of white people in knitting books.  Although knitting is a lifestyle (some might say "craft") which appeals to people of all ethnicities, the models photographed for knitting books are overwhelmingly white. 

You may wonder, is it right to judge whether someone is white or non-white based solely on their appearance in a photograph?  It is not.  In fact, that's really rude.  

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Joining Yarn: An Overview of Techniques

By erika on 8/2/10 4:43pm
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Up until very recently, I joined my yarn the way that A) you're never supposed to, and B) a LOT of knitters do.  Which is that I tied the new end to the old in a square knot, and later came back to weave in the ends.  

NO KNOTS!  That's what all the books tell you.  Tying your yarn ends together is like using scissors on origami: a complete sacrilege.

There are a lot of ways to join yarn.  I should emphasize that knotting at the join isn't "wrong."  If anything, knotting your ends together is a perfectly understandable expression of needless anxiety.  After all, even the slipperiest yarn will hold together if you settle the join properly.  There is really no need to knot it together!  


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Why You Should Enter The County Fair

By erika on 7/20/10 4:41pm
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All across the country, county fair season is winding up!  The summertime is when counties invite their residents to submit everything from chickens to crafts to be judged and the winners given ribbons, and sometimes cash prizes.  (And in my county, a $2 discount off the price of a fair ticket!)

I think it's safe to say that every crafter in the United States lives within the range of a county fair.  (The only exception I've found so far is residents of New York City, who would probably have to submit their entries to the state fair instead.)

So why should you enter?


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What You Can Do About America's Creativity Crisis

By erika on 7/15/10 2:18pm
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According to Newsweek, America's creativity is dwindling.  Every year a group of scientists tests a group of kids for creativity, and offers scores - in much the same way that an IQ test scores the kids' intelligence.  Creativity scores increased year over year until 1990, when they started declining.  And have continued to decline ever since.

I have some serious misgivings about the research, the numbers, what they mean, and where they come from.  But these results FEEL true, don't they? 

It feels as if people have become more rigid, less willing to step back and see the big picture, less interested in learning and problem solving and frankly in doing anything other than wasting time on Facebook and watching television.


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Matching Yarn Color To Pattern

By erika on 7/14/10 2:56pm
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Nectarine, a tertiary colorNectarine, a tertiary colorI have to tell you, I have been having the worst WORST luck with knitting projects lately.  And you know why?  Because I ignore that little voice inside my head that's disagreeing with whatever decision I happen to be making at the time.  I hate that little voice, but it always turns out to be right in the end.  (Which only makes it smug!)

People, this kind of thing is why I always knit with gray!  (Cascade 220 shade #8400 "Charcoal.")


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