Each swatch was made with the same kind of yarn, the same size needles, and the same number of stitches and rows. The difference is amazing and if I wasn't a staunch swatcher before, I certainly am one now!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Seriously. Why you need to swatch!
Each swatch was made with the same kind of yarn, the same size needles, and the same number of stitches and rows. The difference is amazing and if I wasn't a staunch swatcher before, I certainly am one now!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Written from My Underground Snow Bunker
With all of this snow, I've had a chance to do more than my share of knitting.
I have managed to avoid harikari so far - but I've done a lot of frogging on this vest pattern from Pierrot Yarns. I can't tell you how many times I've started over again, each time armed with a little bit more knowledge into this wonderful world of Japanese knitting patterns.
First of all, I've found that most of the charted symbols are the same as US symbols. Some are sort of the same, with an odd variation. The Pierrot site has videos of all the stitches, so be sure to take a minute and double-check to see if you're on the right track.
A glaring example of this is the left-leaning decrease SSK (slip, slip, k2tog tbl) with the familiar symbol:
I have managed to avoid harikari so far - but I've done a lot of frogging on this vest pattern from Pierrot Yarns. I can't tell you how many times I've started over again, each time armed with a little bit more knowledge into this wonderful world of Japanese knitting patterns.
First of all, I've found that most of the charted symbols are the same as US symbols. Some are sort of the same, with an odd variation. The Pierrot site has videos of all the stitches, so be sure to take a minute and double-check to see if you're on the right track.
A glaring example of this is the left-leaning decrease SSK (slip, slip, k2tog tbl) with the familiar symbol:
In Japanese patterns, this is a left-leaning decrease:
After wrestling with this for a while, believing all to be well, my pattern was still pretty wonky so I went to the Pierrot site and checked their video library. The left-leaning decrease turned out to be a slip, knit pass slipstich over (SKPSSO). Mastering this part of the pattern has actually made me feel quite hopeful about this vest. I'm planning to play it safe and put in LOTS more life lines as soon as I publish this entry. This is what I've done successfully so far:
It's the R front panel of the Pierrot vest 211 210 30 in Soft Linen by Classic Elite Yarns color #2248 on size three US 24 in circulars, just because I like to knit flat on circulars!
We were planning on visiting friends for an overnight - but the weather's a little dicey.
Stay safe and warm this weekend. Happy knitting and thanks for reading. A special shout out to my most loyal reader from Boston, whoever you are! Bless your heart for sticking with me!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
As promised - Japanese knitting links
In my search for a new project to knit - a nice vest - I came across a pattern from
Pierrot Yarns in Japan. They have a pattern club - they're fabulous and they're free (the other two of my three favorite "F" words).
I've recently discovered something about my knitting self: I like charts better than text when it comes to knitting instructions. If you're at least an intermediate-level knitter, you'll do just fine with these patterns. They're very clear and very exact. Don't shy away from it because it looks intimidating at first. I promise you - just spend five minutes with it and you'll be able to decipher the instructions perfectly. A world of unique stitch patterns awaits you!
This wonderful blogger has presented the basics in a very well-organized way and takes you by the hand for a tour of a Japanese knitting patterns.
Some other links I've discovered:
InterpretingJapaneseKnittingPatterns.pdf
reading Japanese charts
Try it - it's easier than you think. Thanks for reading.
Pierrot Yarns in Japan. They have a pattern club - they're fabulous and they're free (the other two of my three favorite "F" words).
I've recently discovered something about my knitting self: I like charts better than text when it comes to knitting instructions. If you're at least an intermediate-level knitter, you'll do just fine with these patterns. They're very clear and very exact. Don't shy away from it because it looks intimidating at first. I promise you - just spend five minutes with it and you'll be able to decipher the instructions perfectly. A world of unique stitch patterns awaits you!
This wonderful blogger has presented the basics in a very well-organized way and takes you by the hand for a tour of a Japanese knitting patterns.
Some other links I've discovered:
InterpretingJapaneseKnittingPatterns.pdf
reading Japanese charts
Try it - it's easier than you think. Thanks for reading.
|
| (Photo from the Pierrot Yarns website) |
Thursday, January 2, 2014
My Word for 2014 and Revisiting Stefano's Mom's Minestrone
My word for 2014 (- no, it's not inertia or enervate -) is 'action'!
No - I'm completely serious. Maybe I'll have a little more action than I did dignity (my word for 2013).
It's the 2nd of January and I'm staying home today because the dishwasher guy is coming and my truck looks like this:
I'm cooking up a batch of Stefano Faita's mom's minestrone If you've tried this recipe before, you know how easy it is to make it your own with the additional ingredients you prefer. For me, this soup now begins with the following:
I pretty much follow Stefano's recipe with the following changes: I usually omit the leeks - not a crowd favorite.
In winter I use canned greens I got from the country grocery down south instead of fresh in the original recipe. When I'm using fresh greens, I'll go for chard instead of kale simply because we prefer it.
If you don't have all the herbs don't sweat it - the soup is very flavourful without them- but I do insist upon a bay leaf or two!
This soup freezes beautifully! That's fortunate because the recipe makes enough to feed a small battalion.
I have a new hair-brained scheme: Japanese knitting. I'll share some of it with you in my next entry - that is, if I haven't committed hari kari over it in the meantime.
Have a wonderful New Year!
No - I'm completely serious. Maybe I'll have a little more action than I did dignity (my word for 2013).
It's the 2nd of January and I'm staying home today because the dishwasher guy is coming and my truck looks like this:
I'm cooking up a batch of Stefano Faita's mom's minestrone If you've tried this recipe before, you know how easy it is to make it your own with the additional ingredients you prefer. For me, this soup now begins with the following:
 |
| A honey-baked hambone simmering with onions sautéed in olive oil and bacon fat
|
In winter I use canned greens I got from the country grocery down south instead of fresh in the original recipe. When I'm using fresh greens, I'll go for chard instead of kale simply because we prefer it.
If you don't have all the herbs don't sweat it - the soup is very flavourful without them- but I do insist upon a bay leaf or two!
This soup freezes beautifully! That's fortunate because the recipe makes enough to feed a small battalion.
I have a new hair-brained scheme: Japanese knitting. I'll share some of it with you in my next entry - that is, if I haven't committed hari kari over it in the meantime.
Have a wonderful New Year!
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