MN Knitters' Days

Midsummer's Aran

This weekend was spent at Villa Maria Retreat Center near Red Wing for the annual MN Knitter's Days. All my pictures are posted on http://MNKnittersdays.blogspot.com. Chris Bylsma was the instructor and taught dropped stitches, so here is the back of Midsummer's Aran (her pattern) with the stitches dropped between the cables. Dropping the stitch turned a too-small sweater into one that fits me.

A close up of the cables and dropped stitches.

Saturday Sky October 27, 2007

Charity Knitting

My latest knitting for charity.

Midsummer's Aran

The back is done, ready to bind off, dropping one stitch between each cable. I'm waiting for this weekend to do that as I'll be at MN Knitters' Days and Chris Bylsma, the designer is teaching about dropped stitches all weekend.

Pattern: Midsummer's Aran by Christing Bylsma www.chrisbylsmadesigns.com

Yarn: Ella Rae Silkience in tangerine. Fiber content is cotton, silk and rayon.

Needles: Size 4 for bottom ribbing and size 6 for body of sweater.

Metal Jewelry Class

A few weeks ago I took a metal jewelry class at Beadbury. The big one started out as a shawl pin, but ended up a pendant. A fun class-learning how to use various tools to cut and shape metal. The only thing lacking was my imagination.

Books on CD

Knitting books on CD's! I found them at my LYS but they can be purchased at www.knittingoutloud.com

Saturday Sky October 20, 2007

Colors on the road from Green Bay.

Charity Knitting

One of the volunteer things I do connected with knitting is the organization of the KnitWits of Culver's in Coon Rapids. Each week people gather to knit, visit, and learn from others. One of the options is to knit for charity and this group is tremendous! Last week I cleaned out my car and my garage to sort the knitted and crocheted items to be distributed to local charities. This is the gathering.

Another volunteer position I have is the co-chair of the MN Knitters Guild Service Committee. One of the things we do is to distribute donated yarn to various organizations who knit for people in need. Also stored in my garage for the last couple weeks is this collection of donated yarn (plus 2 more bags I couldn't get in my car).

Some of the yarn is good...

And some is not as good.

Saturday Sky October 13, 2007

A beautiful fall day.

Thrum Mittens

The first mitten was done previously and pictures and the information is in the September 6 post. The mitten has been on display at Amazing Threads and people love it-in fact the thums are nearly felted. Now I'm doing the second one along with the class I'm teaching, so here are pictures of how I inserted the roving or thrums.Prepare the fleece. I found that pulling a thin strip the entire length of the roving gets all the color variations. This technique of folding about one third of each end of the fleece toward the center and twisting it together is from Robin Hanson's book, Fox & Geese & Fences.

Knit up to the stitch to have the thrum. Insert the needle into the stitch in the row below.

Pull the center of the thrum to the front.

Knit the stitch on the left needle.

Pass the thrum over the stitch. (Like a bind off.)

Knit Out 2007

Areas to sit and knit.(But not enough chairs and the area was inside the tables of displays which seemed like going behind the counter in a retail store.)

Displays of charitable opportunities. Garments for style show. In background a learn to knit area. Only one yarn shop was present.

Style show.

Surprise Jacket for Adults

It's a mystery! How does this make a jacket? That's what makes this jacket so much fun to knit. With the right folds, here it is!


Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmermann's Surprise Jacket for Adults. Can be found in her book, "The Opinionated Knitter" or Spring 1989 "Knitter's."

Yarn: Noro Kuryeon. I used 13 skeins, but the sleeves are only bracelet length, so maybe I'll length them. I chose 7 different colorways and knit each ball in at random.

Saturday Sky October 6, 2008

The morning started out raining, but gradually the clouds started clearing away and the sky was all blue. It got hot and humid for October in MN, up in the 80's.

Two Socks on Two Circulars

This is a personal challenge! I am a dedicated four double point needle sock knitter, and I tried a sock on two circulars, and just hated it. All those long ends dangling just drove me up a tree, but I could say I'd tried it and knew enough so I have been able to help other people do it. But, I do have SSS or Second Sock Syndrome so tried this technique.

I used the book, Knitting Circles Around Socks by Antje Gillingham to get started, but now have just gone off on my own.

The yarn is Kaffe Fassett's colorways done by Regia and the socks are fraternal twins.

Note the numbered markers. In order to work the socks equally, the markers are numbered 1-4 and I make it a point to knit all 4 pieces before putting the knitting down. It also makes it easier to know where I am.

I am enjoying this project and might continue doing all my socks this way. At about this point in the knitting, I looked at it and thought, "Wow, I don't have to figure out how to get ribbing on the second sock to match the first!"

Stitch Markers

Stitch markers I made using the suggestion of Cat Bordhi in her new book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters. In her book she uses markers labeled A-E for her sock patterns. When I started two socks on two circulars I thought markers 1-4 would keep me from mixing up the order of the socks I'm knitting. The markers were quite easy, and I think if you don't have jewelery making tools a needle nose pliers would work. I used the wire used to make earrings which looks like a long pin, threaded the beads, twisted the end around an old metal knitting needle and twisted the end around the wire to secure.

Door County Knitting

Last week I spent in Door County, Wisconsin at knitting camp. Here we took a lunch break on the shore of Green Bay. Lovely weather. This group was originated many years ago by Carol Anderson of Cottage Creations and when she retired a couple years ago we continued to meet every year. People come from WI, MN, IA, TX, MA, NC so it is fun to see everybody each year. Knitting has introduced me to many wonderful friends.