Learn, Knit, Read, Learn

Good Morning and Happy Monday

A little cloudy today and maybe some rain.  JT is having his snack of cheese crackers and water. He likes to self serve the water from the bubbler.  He's getting so big!

I would like to share today the importance of classes and reading.  As you know, I am a long time knitter and teach classes, both drop in and project.  When class schedules come up either in my LYS (yarnandteashop.com) or on line or maybe even at another location, I seem to have conflicts.  Working, family, etc., etc,.  All are legitimate reasons NOT to take a class.   BUT, look at what we are missing out on:

• Making new friends.
• Learning a new technique
• Experiencing a new fiber that you might not have been familiar with.

Even as an instructor, I was amazed, at my recent attendance in class, new or different ways of doing the same things I have done for years.  I signed up for a French Beret class at yarnandteashop.com, taught by a local designer, spinner and dyer, Mariepaule Rossier. (www.etsy.com/shop/cheltenhamcottage). Instructor, Mariepaule, will also be teaching at the NY State Sheep and Wool Festival in October on the 20th and 21st, sheepandwool.com. She will also be participating in a local Sheep to Shawl Competition, I will update with location and time.  Her contribution is the spinning of the warp, which is the length wise fiber on the loom.  There are several teams that participate.  A weaver, spinners, carders, all working together to complete the finished shawl project which is also designed, by someone from the team, for this competition.  If you have never seen one, and are at a fair or festival, please stop by the wool room for times.  It's quite an experience!

As you can see, the conversation is not limited to just the project at hand, but also the wealth of information to file away for later use.  I have also signed up for a couple of classes and a knit along at www.craftsy.com.  There is a treasure trove of information out there, it's just a matter of inserting your questions in your favorite browser, asking at your LYS or share your question on your favorite social media site.  Someone who knows someone who knows someone will have many suggestions for where you will find an answer.  You area always free to contact me at youandmeknit.com as well.  If I do not have a ready answer, I will find it for you and help in any way I can.

The other medium is always books.  Your local library is a great source of information in  hard cover or in a magazine.  My favorite author, is Elizabeth Zimmerman, who I feel is the Grandmother of Knitting.  Her books and those of her daughter, Meg Swanson, are informational as well as entertaining.  Not only do you learn how, but you also get an insight into the family as well.  In my opinion, these books are a must read for every knitter.  Then check out the other designers.  There are so many new ideas and designs and new twists on past ideas and designs. 

Take a class, read a book or magazine,  the learning is limitless!  Happy Knitting and Learning!

Long Tail Cast On 'n Cats

Good Morning!

The last few weeks I have been knitting hats getting them ready to upload to my Etsy site, which isn't quite ready yet. During the process, I have been experimenting with the cast on. I have used mostly a "knitted on" cast on as well as the "cabled" cast on. But, let me back up just a bit, say about 45 years or so.

I was taught the "thumb" cast on by my Mom. My Great Aunt taught me to knit, but she always cast on for me. Mom eventually broke down and taught me how to do it by myself as she got tired of casting on all the time. I was a prolific knitter. I didn't have much for fiber, so would rip out and use the same yarn again and again. I even resorted to using butcher's cord and even tried baling twine, which I couldn't rip out because it was too hairy.

As my knitting progressed and I learned new techniques, my cast on changed as well. There were no knitting classes available at that time, but I read whatever I could to learn anything new about knitting. My "thumb" cast on evolved to a type of knitting on. Instead of just slipping the loop on my needle, I would insert the needle into the loop on my thumb then take the working end and wrap it on the needle as if I was knitting a stitch. This is similar to the "long tail" in that you had to have enough yarn to wrap the thumb each time. The edge of the cast on was bulky, and not very neat.


 The "knitted on" cast on was next one I tried and that worked very well. Then on to the "cabled" cast on, which I have used for years and still do today. In the mid 1990's, I was taking some classes locally, and learned the "long tail" cast on. I really loved that one, but trying to figure out how much yarn to allow to get the required number of stitches made me crazy, so I went back to my "cable" cast on.

A couple of years ago, while working at Amazing Threads, http://www.amazingthreads.com/ , I was talking to the owner, Susan DeRosa, about the "long tail" and my inability to come close to estimating the "tail."
She said to my astonishment, that you don't have to...just use both ends of the ball. Duh, no one was sharing this information before? What an incredibly simple solution.

That technique sat on the back shelf for a while until recently. Playing with some two color cast ons, the "long tail" became a perfect solution. Holding the M/C over my forefinger and the C/C color over my thumb,it was just what I was looking for. I had a single strand of color at the very bottom edge of the cast on. It certainly turned out to be a great edging.

Now, the correlation between the cat and the "long tail" cast on. When I was trying to figure out the right amount of yardage for the tail, it generally pooled on the floor next to me and as a long tailed cat does, gets under foot. BTW my cat would always seem to get it and by the time I tried to use it, the yarn ended up slightly frayed in some places. Cat tails and yarn tails, don't know which is more of a problem. They both are cuddly, like to be close, and, well, let's leave this for another post!