Spring and Short Rows

I keep having songs like “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most “ going through my brain.  It has been some crazy see-saw weather on the planet, no?  Two weekends ago we drove to Two Harbors MN on the glorious North Shore of Lake Superior for the 2nd Annual Knitting-By-the Shore-Retreat.  In the snow.  There was 22 inches of snow in Duluth.  In the parking lot of At Sara’s Table, a farm-to-table restaurant with great food:

Here’s the gorgeous setting:

 

a lovely bit from a walk I took on a chilly morning:

I taught a Short Rows Three Ways class to an highly entertaining group of fab knitters.  I also learned a thing or two from them, as happens in all good classes.

I’m going to teach an abbreviated version at the Yarnery on Saturday for one of their PopUp Classes.

“How do Pop Ups work? You show up at The Yarnery, Saturday, May 4, at 10:00am prompt (latecomers may not be seated depending on availability, and given the popularity of Pop Ups, it’s a distinct possibility). Bring some yarn and needles. No pre-registration, and all for only $5.00. As an added bonus, your purchases that morning are 10% off.”

If you are local, come on down!  Or if you are not local, come on down anyway!

Speaking of popping up, I came home from the North Shore to warmer weather, and a few goodies popping up in the garden:

Crown Imperial Fritallaria

Catkins on the Hazelnut Bush

and the first squill, which I loooove.  If it ever warms up again, maybe they will bloom.

Arm Knitting?

Perhaps everyone else has seen this, but I ran across it by accident while watching  some links via Kmkat on You Tube.  

There are lots of other videos about it, too.  I have a friend whose daughter is highly enamoured of finger knitting, but Mom is stumped on what to do with the miles of product.  (Can’t just throw them away when no one is looking, I guess.) Maybe use it for arm knitting?  I haven’t tried it myself, I’m more of a 2.75mm needle girl, I am.

Still, I’m pondering projects for kids —  a giant ball of t-shirt loops and make a rug?

March Went Out Like A Lion

Here we are – Easter Sunday. Lovely primroses over at Jane Brocket’s place. Here are mine:

Somehow my last post disappeared, leaving only the photo of my ipad doing the weather report, even after comments had been left.  Odd.  Bluestocking Knits pointed out that I could be grateful that I have more weather to wear hand-knits.  She is right, I suppose.   She lives in Southern California, where the season is short.  I have been wearing them.  My disappeared post showed the Cloche Hat.  I also finished Burr (Veronik Avery) at the end of February, and have worn it frequently.  I took it on a trip to DC about 3 weeks ago, thinking I might wear it outside as a light jacket. I wore it every day under my light jacket and still shivered.

I love the sweater. I decided this winter I would knit some sweaters from designers I admire, with yarn from stash.  The Thirteen Mile sport I used for Burr is wonderful yarn.  Soft, plant dyed and direct to you from Montana.  It is light but warm, a perfect weight to wear in place of jacket at the office.  I was introduced to this yarn when Gale Zucker asked me to design the Wolf Pack Hat in Shear Spirit.  I was also inspired to try and do Burr in the contiguous sleeve method that Susan Rainey used.  I have made several sweaters with the Barbara Walker method, and even taught a couple of classes on how to make your own.  Coincidentally, this one was on the dining room chair where I left it last night. Please don’t look at the rippled front band.  It is at least 12 years old, in Kureyon.

Not being the technical wiz and brainiac planner that Susan is, I got 3/4 of the way up the shoulders and realized that I had neglected to remove the seam stitches.  I had a four-stitch wide band up each armhole that looked ridiculous, even to me.

I ripped it out and did it the old fashioned way.  I don’t mind sewing set in sleeves.  I’ll have to do a post with my technique. It’s not elegant, but it works.

Any way, I love this sweater. There’s only a few mods I would make.  The shoulders are a bit big:

I made a combo of the large and medium, but added length to the body.  Details on Ravelry.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day – Éirinn go Brách

Here’s the cover of a book I got from my Grandmother’s sister – they emigrated from Ireland in the early 1900′s. It’s the Official Handbook of the Irish Free State, printed in 1932.

The book is supported by advertisements in the back.  Like this one:

Would you like to See Ireland First?  In October?  Then join me and Theresa Gaffey for a Knitting Tour of Ireland.  We have been asked to host this tour, organized by a local travel agent.  The pace will be relaxed, the company good, and the price reasonable.  Fly from anywhere and meet us in Ireland.  Remember,

To Fashion Art that still shall be Supreme, the Hand Retains the Key.

Now I’m off to bake some soda bread.  No caraway seeds, EVER.

Knitting Two Socks at a Time on Double Pointed Needles

I bumped into my friend Bob in the Skyways of downtown St. Paul the other day. He is a knitter, and after discussing naughty puppies and naughty horses, he brought up second sock syndrome.  I explained to him my approach to avoiding second sock syndrome, using double-pointed needles:

 

You may think it an attempt to trick you, but really, it is so simple.  Two sets of sock needles, wind the yarn into two balls.  Work one cuff, then the other, one leg, then the other, etc. etc.

I have tried to do the two socks on one long circular.  This pair started out that way, to help  a knitting student who wanted to learn the technique.  Seriously, to me it is one big pain in the rear. Fussy, tangled, and more trouble than it is worth.  To me.  I have many friends who prefer that approach and I hope they continue to be happy with it.  When a student asks “Is it really better?” I tell them they’ll have to try it and see.  I prefer working socks on double pointed needles, and two sets helps me to avoid Second Sock Syndrome.

Another ‘time saver’ that I don’t find saves me any time is cabling without a cable needle.  Perhaps that conversation is better left for another day.

On the topic of Wise and Foolish Virgins, Stashdragon left me a link to an article on Norwegian Tapestries that includes a photo of the original. Don’t just look at the photos, though, it is really an interesting bit of writing, including the tale of a weaver who argued with the carpenter building her loom.  She ended up being burnt as a witch.

 

When Knit Nerds Meet

I was at a party this week and the host took me over to meet another guest – “He’s a knitter, too.”  I rounded the corner and saw this:

And the back view:

 

“Oh my!”  I gushed. “The Wise and Foolish Virgins!”  His companion leaned over to me and stage whispered, “I can assure you, he is neither.”

And even though I had the name wrong, it is The Foolish Virgins, he was kind enough to model while I whipped out my i-phone.  Now that is some knitting mojo.