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LushPodKAL – Day 7

Published by louise

I can’t believe it has been a week already of LushPodKAL and I can’t believe I still haven’t got my yoke blocked yet! I had hoped to get this done last night, but I ended up almost-coma-like after a few days of strong antibiotic taking  due to this awful tooth (or lack thereof!)

I thought it might be useful to link to some information on waist shaping – it’s one of those techniques that I see a lot of people skip when I am perusing projects on ravelry (this is how I procrastinate!). In a lot of patterns this is an optional step and so it is fair enough that some skip it. Others skip it as they feel they don’t need the fitted effect in their finished garment. I also think a lot of people don’t knit shaping because everyone’s bodies are different and waists tend to be in different places.

Personally speaking, I was scared to put more fittedness in my first Lush – I knew it was a fitted knit, with negative ease in it that I had not knit before. I was frightened that I would look like I had been put on a boil wash. But I am so glad that I did this. I bloomin’ adore the fit!

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Knitty.com, again, have a great article on making your knits fit  – this time by the fantastic Stefanie Japel (whose Shapely cardigan is also in my queue).

If you want to tailor your waist shaping for your very own measurements then you are going to need to do some calculations. Before you run away at the thought of knitting maths  Knitting Daily have a calculator tool to assist you in this!

from www.amyherzogdesigns.com

Knit to Flatter author Amy Herzog also has a great tutorial  on shaping (subtitled “YES, you need it”). on the different types of shaping you can do and how to adapt side seam shaping to shaping at the back and front – and also how to put waist shaping into patterns that do not include it. According to Amy, whatever shape you are you and your garment will benefit from waist shaping and making your knits fit to flatter.

There are not many video tutorials, unless you join a Craftsy class on the topic, but I found this one.  The example used in this KnitPicks video is on a bottom up garment, but for those who haven’t added waist shaping before and just need a little demystifying, then this is quite a good. It is part of a series of video tutorials on knitting a sweater. The KnitPicks website has further instructions for waist shaping – such as instructions to help calculate waist shaping for your exact measurements

I hope this has been a little helpful.  This is the start of week two on the Safari and the LushPodKAL chat thread has moved to Aimee’s group in KnitSpinCake Ravelry group. Thanks to all the chatterers in my group and we will see you back there in week 6 – Jeezo! I hope my progress is further by then!

episode 9: normal service has resumed

Published by louise

The podcast is back to the normal podcast schedule! Be warned – Jeremy, the podcat, gets athletic in this episode.

UPDATE: Due to space I can no longer host the audio files on the blog, please use your favourite podcatcher, or right click the podgen link to open the podcast episode in a new window: Podgen

  • How were the recent woolly events? I am heading to Yarndale in September!
  • LushPodKAL – have you cast on yet with Shinybees, KnitSpinCake, Caithness Craft Collective and all the LushPodKal-ers and I? I am using Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop & get slightly pornographic when I tell you why you should try wools that you think you can’t wear next to your skin! (n.b. if you are genuinely allergic to wool do not to as I do!)

p.s. the seagull sounds are the seagulls currently living next to my office. The tweety birds are the birds at my bus stop!

Click on the picture for larger images.

: : COMPETITION RULES : : 

This competition is open to everyone – please enter by commenting to this post first and go to Clare’s pattern store and tell us about your fave pattern and why – leave your Rav name in the comment!

You can earn extra entries in the KnitBritsh Ravelry group. Comment in there in the same way.

I will draw the winners at random by the next podcast and will lock the thread when the competition closes.

Rules are there for a reason and I will disqualify entries which do not comment appropriately.  Please listen to the podcast for all the give-away info.

LushPodKAL ~ day three

Published by louise

One of the trickiest techniques, the most fiddly and, frankly – IMHO – one of the annoying of any project (depending on the amount) is summed up in six seemingly innocuous little words….

Pick up and knit X stitches

Do I see a shudder slipping down your back bone?

It’s like that short little instruction is smirking at you when you read it….

Pick up and knit X stitches.

Picking up stitches can be footery and I, for one, have certainly made a mess of it – I can recall trying to pick up stitches along a curved edge 5 times! (6th time was the charm)

Thankfully, although the Lush cardigan requires you to pick up stitches along both the top AND bottom edge of your lace yoke, there are no dreaded curved edges, but if you are not au fait with stitch-picking up then I thought I would share with you a couple of videos and sites that you might find useful…once you get good with the amount of picking up you may have to do, of course!

Before you start there are two important things to bear in mind-  you always pick up with right side facing, unless you are directed otherwise. Secondly, as I quickly discovered, it’s not knitting stitches as in  in- around-through-off, when we use two needles to create new stitches – you are picking up and simply drawing through a loop.

But where do you pick up? There are some fantastic online pictorials that will give you simple images to follow, and a really great blog on the subject from Tin Can Knits. Knitty.com has some great articles on techniques and picking up stitches is no exception. I think Knitty is one of the best go-to places for information on techniques; I have used it right from the get-go with knitting and they’ve never let me down.

from www.knitty.com (slurped from the web but with the kindest intentions and good vibes)

You might also want to check out this video from Knit Purl Hunter, who looks at both horizontal and vertical picking up.

 

Personally, I prefer to use a crochet hook when picking up and one that is a good few sizes smaller than the recommended needle size. I did this with my last lush yoke after I was disappointed with how the new stitches look…long and saggy.

It was on the Tin Can Knits forum on Ravelry that I got this tip and have used it ever since. I find that the smaller crochet hook makes a neat new line of stitches, rather than elongated or droopy.

Have you picked up all those stitches yet? Top and bottom? Well done – now is the exciting bit…watching that long rectangle turn into a circular yoke.

Short rows are next – now short rows I have no helpful tips for – I suck massively and I am always just a little bit disappointed with how my wraps look in the end. Thankfully, Ysolda has a really interesting video tutorial on wrapless short rows and I think this is the technique I will try with my Lush.

My Lush…is about 2 repeats longer on the LH yoke as it was last night, not bad I suppose, considering I have been working all day and writing various things all evening…maybe if I stop writing blog posts I will get more knit?

I may not post tomorrow (dental surgery with anaesthetic = drowsy Weezie) but I will be watching for the Wednesday Club casting on – those KAL-ers who have had to wait on their yarn to arrive, or have wanted to chum those who have had to wait for yarn to arrive!  Looking forward to seeing all the progress!

LushPodKAL ~ day two

Published by louise

The second day and my Lush cardi has gotten…well, not much longer. I managed to cast on the left hand yoke at 7.40am this morning before I went to work and this is how big it has gotten since then. Processed with Moldiv

Bit pitiful when you see the progress in the chat thread and on twitter at #LushPodKAL.

A lot of  Lush-alongers are getting to the stage where they are ready to block their lace yoke and there have been a few questions about the best way to block and how long the piece should be.

I love blocking in terms of what it does to the item and how the FO looks, but I really hate grappling with the blocking; I never seem to have space big enough and Jeremy-Jean always seems to like to get involved somehow!

When I blocked my last Lush I knew I my gauge was right and so even though the pattern doesn’t say how long your yoke should be – I reckoned that if it blocked the width to the correct dimension of 4.5 inches then hopefully the length would magically be right. And it was! But if you are like me, you are going to look at the length of the yoke and think, “that is way too long!”. Remember though that the next step involves picking up stitches and making short rows and suddenly your yoke will “become”.

yoke

If you are looking for tips on how to block your lush yoke, or how the yoke should look then check out Lush-designer Emily’s blog on her Lush in progress. and there are also wider tips from Tin Can Knits on how to block your lace garments. Knitty.com  also has a good article on blocking and how different yarns will behave and the tools you will need.

If this is your first garment where you need to block anything then there is a very, very simple video from Howcast.com, which first time blockers might be helpful.

I hope my progress picks up tomorrow – I am also trying to write a podcast episode for the weekend and finish my yarn reviews for that, too!

LushPodKAL: day one

Published by louise

Here is my progress so far on day one of the #LushPodKAL

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I cast on – a little later than expected – using the long tail provisional cast on method, which Jo featured a video off in her great post from last night.

The yarn I am using is Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop and I will post a little more on this later in the week. Needless to say I love the longwool sheepy halo – but the colour is hard to photograph!

I managed to get the right hand yoke finished and I am really pleased with how the yarn is knitting up. The pattern is, of course, fantastic. I love watching the leaves form.

 

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It is fantastic to see all the progress so far in the chat thread – this week in my ravelry group – and on the hashtag on twitter.  There are some fantastic yarns out there too and it gladdens my heart to see lots of British yarns in the mix!

My day of knitting pleasure was brought to you by orange juices and lemonades, a fan (it’s awffy close!) and the King Creosote album, From Scotland, With Love. I am a huge fan of Kenny Anderson’s music and his new album accompanies a film of the same name. The film is compiled of archival film from around Scotland – just breathtaking and his vocals are – to pinch ~@bluebluegrey’s term – melty!

I have called my project on Ravelry Bluebell, Cockleshell, 123 – a name of one of the songs on the album and a traditional children’s skipping rhyme. I thought it was apt for a KAL project. …”all in together…”

Well done on day one Lush-alongers! I am sad to be working tomorrow and missing out on extended Lush time!

LushPodKAL: Cast on day

Published by louise

It is Sunday 20th July – have you cast on??

If you read the last post and have been following on twitter and Ravelry, you will know that it is day one of the LushPodKAL!

As I mentioned before,  Jo (shiny bees), Aimee (knit-spin-cake), Louise (Caithness craft collective) and I are going to be taking the Lush progress/chatter thread on safari. This week you will find the thread in the KnitBritish group – share your posts with us all there and next Sunday I lock the thread and link to Aimee’s chat thread in the Knit Spin Cake group. This is the best way for four of us can successfully host the KAL between us – It is also like a KAL treasure hunt and there will be great prizes.

Either save the safari dates or follow all the groups to keep up to date – I even created a LUSH tab on my Ravelry forum page , so I can see all the group boards in one place.

 

luah pod kal dates

The chatter thread for week one is open and if you haven’t cast on yet, get stash diving! You can also get a discount from Blacker Yarns when you buy their Swan Falkland Merino yarn. Just enter the code LUSHKAL5634 as you check out!

I will try and do a post each day – I say “try”,  my intentions are good though!

Well, I am going to cast on now in my Wensleydale longwool Sheepshop DK – More from me and my project later!

Get chatting and happy knitting!

 

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Podcaster Lush-along!

Published by louise

If you have been following me, Shiny Bee’s Jo, Knit Spin Cake’s Aimee or Caithness Craft Collective’s Louise Hunt then you will be aware that we are all of buzz about organising a KAL to knit Tin Can Knit’s Lush cardigan.

Lush Cardi and I go for a swing

Lush Cardi and I go for a swing

Listeners and readers of KnitBritish will know that it is not that long since I finished my own Lush, knit in Brigantia, and that I really wanted to knit another one. After chatter on twitter with my favourite podcasting chums we thought we could start up a little Lush-along. The chatter got around and we seem to have got a lot of people interested in joining us and so if this is a pattern you have always wanted to knit then why don’t you join up too?

: : The Pattern : : 

Lush is knit in DK and is a paid for pattern, which is available as a single pattern or in the Handmade in the UK e/book (which is a fantastic collection of lace patterns all knit in British wool!). If you haven’t knit a Tin Can Knits pattern before then, doubtlessly, you will have heard me tell you that  patterns are really well written, easy to understand and set out beautifully.

The sizes start from baby to Adult 4XL – which is perfect as we already have had people say that they desperately want to join in but might not have time to knit an adult size – if you don’t have a wee person in the family, you could donate one to charity!

The gauge is 20 sts/26 rows in stockinette on 4mm needles and the cardi is designed to be close fitting with -1 to -3 negative ease.

: : The KAL : : 

Cast on date is Sunday 20th July – this Sunday! – and we are knitting for 8 weeks with FOs by 14th September.

You need to sign up in my thread over at the KnitBritish ravelry group – when you post there tell us which yarn you are going to use too. When you do cast on then share your project with the Shiny Bees’ group, Knit.Spin.Cake. group, Caithness Craft group and the KnitBritish group, so we can see your progress. Tag your project with Lush-Pod-KAL and if you are tweeting use #LushpodKAL.

There will be chatter threads in each group, but with a bit of a difference – Jo, Aimee, Louise H and I will be be taking the KAL on safari to our blogs, podcasts and groups and so the chatter will do that too. When the safari is with one of us, the other chatter threads will be locked. This way we all go on tour together! Jo describes it as a bit of a treasure hunt – and when you see the prizes attached to the chatter threads then you are going to want to join in, for sure!

luah pod kal dates

: : Prizes : : 
We have rustled up  fantastic prizes for lucky KAL winners – including British yarns, luxury yarn, project bags  – and we have some amazing Blacker Elegance Falkland Corriedale/Alpaca yarn prizes too. We are working out how to split the prize pile and will announce the prizes in due course, but you must be at least 75% through your project by 14th September to qualify for the prize draw.
In addition  to our prizes, Emily and Alexa from Tin Can Knits have offered EACH PODCASTER a set of prizes for 3 lucky winners in each chatter group.
The prizes for each of the four groups are one TCK ebook of the winner’s choice from their current pattern collections* and 2 prizes of a single pattern of the winner’s choice. How spectacular is that? Make sure you follow the safari and chatter in each of the groups to better you chances of winning and thank you so much to Tin Can Knits for providing a really fantastic prize.

: : Not sure which yarn to use? : : 
Blacker are offering a 10% discount on their Blacker Swan Falkland Merino DK – get your orders in fast!
Anyone choosing Blacker Swan for the #LushPodKAL will receive a 10% discount for the duration of the KAL. Just enter the code LUSHKAL5634 as you check out!
And if you that doesn’t tempt you, you can head over to the signup thread to get inspiration from other knitters.

We are really delighted to be hosting this KAL and really looking forward to a fun knitalong.

: : Notes : :
either 9 Months of Knitting, Great White North, Pacific Knits or Handmade in the UK.

Review: Knit for Health and Wellness

Published by louise

Not long after writing my posts on my personal journey with knitting and mental health , the wonderful world of twitter told me about a new publication on the very topic.

Knit for Health and Wellness is by Betsan Corkhill of www.stitchlinks.com. As a physiotherapist she began to feel that what many patients needed was approach that focuses on the whole person, an approach that understands that the  psychological well-being of the patient is key to healing.

It was after a career change, while working for a craft magazine, that Betsan began to realise from reader’s letters that there were therapeutic benefits to crafting; distraction from pain, changing mindsets, something to motivate and get a sense of achievement from. Betsan was sure that learning to knit and knitting therapeutically could be the activity to give people suffering from mental health disorders, chronic pain and long term medical conditions an interest to help their psychological well-being  and their physical health as a result.

The book is a self-help tool to assist the reader to actively get involved with improving your own situation. There are 10 chapters which start with learning to be proactive in your health and wellbeing and on the potential of therapeutic knitting. The rest of the book focuses on how to knit therapeutically  – on the importance of knitting in quiet and finding an inner peace; the benefits of knitting as a group activity; how to sit; how to select your yarn and tools and how you can use your knitting to help manage your conditions.

I love that the book has lots of quotes from real knitters – it puts the ideas behind  therapeutic knitting into context and a will strike a chord with most knitters.

“I can actually feel all the tension just fade out of me. I become totally focussed on the rhythm of my hands and I can just let go of everything I’ve been carrying around all day”.

For me  it is these quotes – responses from people who took part in a 2010 survey conducted by Stitchlinks and the University of Cardiff – and the helpful “points to peruse” sections at the end of each chapter that I kept finding myself thumbing through.

I think that the book will be an excellent tool for discovering how knitting can help with body and mind, but I also think it will be successful as a book to have by your WIPs and just dip into. The points section at the end of each chapter have little nuggets of mindful hints that the preceding chapter has discussed, but they can stand alone as pearls of wisdom as and when you need them.

“Use your knitting to break destructive negative thought cycles…

…use an ‘intricate’ project to distract your mind from any life problems or symptoms of illness, such as pain. It will put you in control…

…Focus on the feeling of deep relaxation and learn what this feels like. Practise recalling this feeling at times when you don’t have your knitting to hand”

You don’t need to be new to knitting to enjoy the book – it is an interesting read and there are chapters in there that I think every knitter should revisit, particularly on the importance of knitting posture and avoiding injury and also on planning your projects mindfully – not only a lesson in choosing the right pattern in terms of the time you have, the texture and feel you want or the level of skill you want to employ, but a good antidote to startitis, surely!

Knitting for Health and Wellness, by Betsan Corkhill is available on kindle now and costs £6.17.

The book will be published in paper format in September. For more details you can check out the Stitchlinks website.