Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great week! I just wanted to pop in and announce the winner of the Cozy Knits Giveaway!



Thanks to random.org, our winner is....Commenter #22 who wrote:

"quiltmt said...

That Make Mine Mocha poncho is for me! I love to wrap up in a generous hand knit,; but tea for me, please, not coffee!"

Thanks everyone for participating! Quiltmt, please e-mail me at: kristen (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com, with your mailing address so I can ship your book! Congrats, yay!

I'll give the winner until Friday, November 8th to claim their prize and if I've not received an e-mail, I'll choose a new winner -- you'd be surprised at how many people we've had not claim their prizes from giveaways! I mean, who doesn't want free stuff, right?!?! :)

If you are sad about not winning this time around, but still want a copy of Cozy Knits, you can find one here:  http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/knitting/yarn/TanisGray/CozyKnits.asp?showLarge=true&specPCVID=51298

Lastly, if you were a big fan of Terry's awesome Fiber Feature blog posts, or if you are participating in the Great American Aran Afghan KAL that she is hosting on our Ravelry Group Page, remember that she has moved all of that content to her brand spankin' new blog: Terraknit! Don't worry, she hasn't left us, she is just going to focus more of her time at the shop on teaching all of you wonderful people, so she decided to start a blog of her own. I hope you'll head on over and follow it as she is sure to keep writing wonderful and helpful posts!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
Kristen

 

It's once again time to announce the next square for The Great American Aran Afghan Knit A Long!!!

So far we've learned how to do a basic twist and a basic cable and I sneakily made it a reversible cable with completely reversible square #1!  In Square #2 we learned traveling stitches and that some charts are purposely written opposite of standard charts.  For square #3 we learned how to make bobbles and add some texture fill while practicing our new cabling skills.
For square #4 we are going to do more traveling stitches, learn the trinity stitch and learn how a plait works.  We will learn all of this with the square on page 32 designed by Hanna Burns!  This square features "DNA" strands spiraling away from each other with a beautifully plaited cable up the center framed by elongated twists.  Two side panels of trinity stitch really help to accentuate the purl background making the DNA strands really pop!

For the most part I think most of you will do well with this block, it's still in the easier category.  My first suggestion to help you is to be sure to copy the charts, enlarging them if needed, and using highlighter tape, sticky notes or magnets to block off all the lines except the one you're working.  I say this because I find the traveling stitch symbols difficult to distinguish one from another.  They kind of visually run together.  All become very clear when the rows above and below are blocked off.  Do note that chart B on the left sides of the square begins with row 17 so that it spirals opposite of chart B on the right side.

(And yes for you science nerds like me, this DNA spiral is only a 2 dimensional, artistic representation and is not a true double helix but it's still very pretty! Here is a link with other DNA helix patterns on ChemKnit's blog if you wish to make a true double helix.)

The trinity stitch, aka blackberry stitch, is a pretty texture stitch that makes three stitches out of one and one out of three.  This is done by knitting the next stitch on the left hand needle but don't drop the stitch off the left needle. Instead, yarn forward and purl into the same stitch and still leave it on the needle.  Then yarn back and knit into this same stitch again. This time dropping the stitch off the left needle to complete the three stitches out of one.

The trinity stitch increases your stitch count by two each time you work it. These extra stitches must then be balanced by decreases to keep your stitch count the same. This decrease is done with a purl 3 together (p3tog). This is done just like purling 2 together except you catch 3 stitches instead of 2. A double decrease is the result, turning three stitches into 1. If you have trouble getting your needle through all three stitches try a needle with a sharper point or slipping all three stitches onto a crochet hook purlwise then pulling the yarn through and returning the single remaining stitch back to the right hand needle, being careful not to twist it.

You'll notice that the trinity stitch creates offset rows with diagonal lines. Whereas the moss stitch which looks somewhat similar, is all horizontal and vertical lines.

I hope you enjoy this square! If you have any questions or comment please don't hesitate to send me an email or ask in our Ravelry group thread. I've created a special thread just for asking questions so they don't get lost in the general chat. If you don't already belong to Ravelry I urge you to sign up. It's free and you don't get any unwanted email. It's a wonderful resource for finding patterns, connecting with other knitters & crocheters and keeping track of your projects, needles and stash!

We're seeing some lovely squares completed! Here are those that have been post during the last two weeks.(Sorry for the funky placement, it's not terribly easy to arrange photos in blogger.)

Angela's Square 1

Anna's square 1

Donna's Square 1

Lovely first squares everyone! I love the colors each person is choosing! Many people are using Cascade 220 superwash with great results.

Katy is doing an ombre and chose MadelineTosh Denim for her first square, shown below.

Katy's Square 1

Steph's Square 1

Sandee's Square 2

Anna's Square 2

Angela's square 2

Anna's Square 3

Tanya's Square 3

As for me, I'm only about 2 inches into square 2. I've been working on some other projects that have deadlines. I hope to be back to making some progress on my square after this weekend.

Happy Knitting!
Terry

First let me say Welcome! to all those who have joined in since we've started this knit-a-long!  We're so pleased that you could join us!

Everyday someone posts a photo of a finished square over in our Raverly group! These Square 1's were finished and photo posted since last weeks blog!

Square #1 by Carol Adams on page 22 of The Great American Aran Afghan book. In this square we learned a basic cable but with a little twist, it's a reversible cable! So the square looks pretty much the same on both sides. Not all of our squares will.
 

Carol's Square 1

Sherri's Square 1

Terry's Square 1

Gwen's Square 1

So it seems that my choice for Square 2 contradicted everything I said about chart reading in my hints for Square 1, week before last! Square 2 (Barbara Selesnick's design on page 16) is a perfect example of a pattern that specifically states that you are to read the charts the opposite of the norm. Despite that, several people have already completed their squares.

Square #2 by Barbara Selesnick on page 16. In this square we are learning twists and traveling stitches, stitches that move across the work instead of staying in vertical columns.

Tanya's Square 2

Carol's Square 2

  

Karen's Square 2

I'm only about 4 rows into the charted patterns, and I do have to say that it took me a while to get the row layout fastened in my head in the proper order. What has really helped is to remember that most of the time cables are only done on the right side rows.  In this pattern, row 19 is the exception with a cross on the wrong side. It has to be this way to close up the top of the lobes of the heart.

One question that has come up repeatedly is how to work the M1s.  M1 stands for Make One which is a nearly invisible increase. There are two kinds of M1s; make 1 left (M1L) and make 1 right (M1R). In many patterns the designer will not specify which one to use because unless they are repeated row upon row, the way the stitch twists makes little difference in the way the finished fabric looks and performs. When it does matter the designer will specify.

Make One Left (M1L)

• To do a M1L increase you will need to have at least one stitch on your right hand needle.
• Look at your knitting between the two needles. See the little bar between the two stitches? With your left needle pick up this bar going from front to back.
• Next, knit the loop you now have on your left needle through the back loop just as you would a normal knit through the back loop.
• By knitting through the back loop you are adding a left twist to the increase, making it invisible. Without the twist you will get an eyelet much like a small yarnover instead of an invisible increase.

Make One Right (M1R)
This increase is the same as a M1L except:

• with your left needle you will pick up the bar between the stitches from back to front
• knit it through the front loop, adding a right twist.

Perhaps an easy way to remember this is:

• M1L - pick up front to back, knit in the back - front, back, back
• M1R - pick up back to front, knit in the front - back, front, front

I usually find that M1L is easier to do, so I tend to work my M1 this way most of the time. When the instructions indicate a M1P follow these same instruction and instead of knitting into the back or front loop, purl instead. Make sure to maintain the twist or you will have a hole slightly smaller than a yarn over.

Here's a video I did last winter on how to do M1s.



Please let me know if there are other issues with Square 2 you need help with!

Now on to Square #3 by Julie Levy on page 4 of the book.

In this square we will practice our cables, add some fill stitches and learn how to make bobbles!  Bobbles aren't hard. There are many variations of to work bobbles so be sure to check the patterns instructions on what this designer wants in a bobble. Basically, to create a bobble you will be working all in one stitch:

Step 1: increase a few stitches
Step 2: work back and forth over these stitches for as many rows as indicated
Step 3: decrease back to one stitch
Step 4: resume working your row as directed

These steps create a excess fabric that will stick out 3-dimensionally from your fabric. Sometimes, you have to make the bobble lay on the correct side of the fabric by poking it into place. Knit the stitch immediately after the bobble very tightly. Yes, there will be a bit of a hole on the side of the bobble. This is normal, don't worry.

Have fun, and if you haven't already, I hope you join us for this low stress, work at your own pace project!

Please send comments, feedback, questions to me at askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com.

Happy Bobbling!!!

Terry

We are in our third week of the Great American Aran Afghan KAL and more people have been finishing up their first squares while others are just getting started! We have new people joining in everyday and I am so pleased to be helping people get started or restarted making these lovely afghan squares.

Next week I'll reveal my choice for square #3 along with helpful hints for knitting square #2. In the meantime, should some of you finish with square #2 and wish to start on #3, scoot on over to our Ravelry group and I'll mention it in the thread there a little early!

Here are some of the squares that have been completed this week.

Karen's 1st square

Sylvie's Square 1

Sylvie's 2nd square

Great work everyone!!!

Do any of you smartphone and tablet users have favorite knitting apps you use regularly? I just recently became a smartphone owner and started using the BeeCount Knitting Counter free app for Android. I'm finding it very helpful to keep track of which row of each chart I'm on because it allows you to have multiple counts. I'm tracking only charts C & B/D by row and beginning again from zero when I start a new repeat. I haven't completely figured out all the functions of this app yet but this works for me so far. Please share your favorite knitting apps and how you use them! I'd love to hear!

Now onto today's feature fiber...

The hardest part of writing these posts is deciding which fiber to talk about at any given time. I've tried to put most things in some sort of logical order but, for protein fibers, other than keeping type/species of fibers together I haven't come up with a logical order. So today, on a whimsy, I'm going to talk about possum fiber!

Possum is one of the newest fibers available to handcrafters. When we say possum in the context of yarn we are talking about the undercoat from the Common Brushtail Possum, a cat sized marsupial native to Australia, Tasmania, a few offshore islands, and a human introduced species in New Zealand. 

Around the 1850s, European settlers introduced the Brushtail possum into New Zealand as a source of food and fiber.  Over the years, we've repeatedly learned that this casual introduction of non-native species into new environments has had devastating results, particularly in island eco-systems.  And this is just what has happened with the Brushtail possum in New Zealand. There are no native predators of the possum in New Zealand and excellent food sources as the native plants have not evolved any of the usual protections from mammals that eat plants. By the 1980s, it was estimated that there were 60-70 million possums in New Zealand. The exploding population of possums has caused serious damage to native forests. Because of competition for food and shelter in addition to predation on their eggs by possums, there has been great reductions in native bird populations as well, including some very endangered species. And if this weren't enough, the Brushtail possum is also a primary vector for bovine tuberculosis, a serious and costly disease of cattle and deer which threats the human food supply of the islands.

Zealana Rimu DK

Out of the unpleasant battle to humanely control the numbers of Brushtail possum a craft industry has arisen! Possum fiber yarns!!! The fur of the animals is dehaired to remove the bristly outer coat then the soft, short, luxurious under coat is blended with wool, silk, cashmere and other fibers to create lovely yarns.  The purchase of these yarns helps an industry help its country by creating beauty from tragedy.

We as handcrafters can now participate in the preservation of the wondrous beauty of New Zealand (that many of us have only glimpsed in our favorite Tolkien movies and nature documentaries and long to visit in person!) by purchasing this wonderful yarn!  Check out all of the awesome Zealana yarns we carry!
With all this in mind, should you make the choice to purchase yarns containing possum fiber you will be helping to bring some balance back to disrupted ecosystems and perhaps help to ensure the survival of some very intriguing creatures!

Save a Kiwi... Knit with Possum

 Please send you comments, questions, thoughts, suggestions and any photos of afghan squares (with permission to post them along with your first name) to me at askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com.

Terry

Not to make anyone feel rushed but it's time to choose the second square for The Great American Aran Afghan KAL (TGAAA KAL)!  I haven't made a lot of progress on my first square this week either so don't feel behind! Remember this is a low stress, work at your own pace project.  There will most likely be months when you can whip out two or more squares!


Please do send me photos of your finished squares and I'll post them up here on the blog with your permission!!! Here is a finished and blocked square from on of our Ravelry members, Tanya.



While the first square I chose for us to work on is not listed as one of the five easiest, I felt it was a good one to start with because of the garter stitch back ground, simple opposing cables and simple lace eyelet heart pattern center for interest. For those of you just joining us, the square is the one on page 22 designed by Carol Adams. I hope my choice has been a good one for most of you and that you're not experiencing too much frustration. If so, please let me know and I'll do my best to help you through the difficult part.

Another reason I chose this square is that it does plunge you into learning the two types of charts utilized in Aran patterns. The first chart everyone should learn, whether you are working from the written instructions or the pattern charts is the Pattern Arrangement chart. This little chart tells you in which order to work the pattern instructions or charts. Since we are working flat and not in the round, the pattern arrangement chart is worked from right to left on odd rows and left to right for even rows. It's a good habit to always read charts this way because not all charts are symmetrical and it's way too easy to make assumptions, then knit away only to later realize that half the pattern is backwards.Yes, some patterns are symmetrical but don't assume they are. You know what "they" say about assumptions!

The second type of chart for each of these squares is a very typical chart.  Again, these charts are read beginning at the bottom right hand corner, working each odd row right to left and each even row left to right. Unless the pattern specifically says otherwise.

So for this first square the pattern arrangement chart says to work three garter stitch edge stitches, row 1 of chart A, row 1 of chart B, row 1 of chart A, row 1 of chart C, row 1 of chart A, row 1 of chart D, and finally one last repeat of row 1 of chart A and the last three garter stitch edge stitches.

You'll notice that each of the four pattern charts have a different numbers of rows. This is where Aran knitting becomes a bit interesting. Keeping a tally or using one of the stitch counting apps that allows multi-counts are very handy. You'll see that chart C has 24 rows, so you will go back to row 1 of chart A on every odd row of Chart C. For charts B & D you start with row 1 and continue through the first eight rows matching row for row with chart C. Then, when you begin your second and subsequent repeats of charts B & D you will treat row 3 as if it were row 1. Following the instructions in the Square paragraph you'll keep working these charts in order and ending after working row 1 of charts A & C and row 7 of charts B & D. In other words, you will not be completing all charts.

One final note before moving on. When the instructions say to CO and work three ridges this means to cast on and knit six rows. Since we're working in garter stitch, in order to get three ridges on each side of the work you must work six rows. Two rows in garter stitch = one garter stitch ridge. If you didn't knit six rows, don't sweat it and please don't go ripping back to start over. Just keep going and then do all of you're squares the same way through out, so that they are consistent. Or alternatively, we could look at adding a little bit of single crochet to this one square to make it work. 

I hope this clears up some of the confusions I've been seeing. If I can give further explanations please let me know.

Now, for square two! We will officially start the second square on Monday Sept. 9th. For this one we will be working the square on page 16, designed by Barbara Selesnick. This one will give us more practice working some simple twist type cables as well as introducing us to traveling stitches. What are traveling stitches you ask? Basically, traveling stitches are stitches that "move" across the work instead of staying in columns. This square starts with a simple four stitch cable for the base of each heart then the two sets of stitches will gradually move outward, away from each other, finally diverging into single stitches to form the lobes at the top.

Materials:
1 hank/skein of your chosen yarn
US #8 needle (straight or circular)
cable needle
stitch markers

The two in-store classes for working on this KAL are scheduled for Monday Sept 9th and Monday Sept 23rd at 1:30 to 3:30 pm both days. The fee for these classes is $20. Please sign up in advance if possible. Our regular JBW Knit Night will be as usual the 4th Thursday of the month, Sept. 26th at 6 to 8 pm. Everyone is welcome and this is a great time to sit, chat and work on your squares!

If you're participating in this KAL but haven't yet joined the thread in the Jimmy Beans Wool Group on Ravelry please do! There is a lot of helpful information from others who are working on this project as well as the possibility of chatting and getting to make new knitting friends! If anyone is interested in a live chat time on the Ravelry board let me know and we'll set one up!

For other classes please check out and bookmark our classes page! And a heads up! Beginning October 1st we will return to scheduling a full quarter's classes at a time so you'll have plenty of time to plan and sign up. If you aren't local but are planning a visit to Reno you are most welcome to join us for a class during your visit! If you have particular class requests please let me know at my email below.

I hadn't intended for this part of today's post to get so long! I was hoping to feature a protein fiber too but I will leave that for next weeks post. Any particular fiber you want to hear about first?

As always, if you have any question, want to sign up for or schedule a class, or need help please let me know at askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com.

Happy cabling!!!
Terry

Haymarket in Whitewater

In last week's blog while telling you about the Lorna's Laces contest I talked a little about Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) wool as an introduction to protein fibers. Lorna's Laces Haymarket and 6 other yarns that we carry contain BFL specifically.

Yarns made from protein fibers are probably the most commonly used fibers by knitters in North America and Great Britain. Protein fibers are fibers harvested from animals, usually by shearing or plucking their coats. Sheep of course are what most people think of when they think of animals that give us fiber but there are many animals that humans have used for their fiber throughout the ages.

Most of the animals from which we obtain fiber have been domesticated for centuries and sometimes bred for certain characteristics. For instance; good muscling, wool/coat qualities, hardiness and docility. Many of the characteristics that we humans find desirable in a domestic animal are juvenile traits which tends to make an animal unsuited to life in the wild. Your typical sheep, for example, would not survive in the wild because it has been breed to continue to grow its softer undercoat and must be sheared periodically. Wild sheep shed this softer undercoat once or twice a year.  When left unshorn, a woolly, domestic sheep will eventually not be able to move and will eventually die.

Here are some of the animals from which fibers can be obtained:

Sheep:
There are hundreds of different sheep breeds the world over that produce all types of wool. Sheep are one of the oldest domesticated animals. I'll talk about specific breeds in various up coming posts but if you want to read about some you can at Sheep 101

Goats:
Just like sheep, goats have been domesticated for thousands of years and some are also dependent on humans because of the need to be sheared. The two main varieties of fiber goats are: Angora goats originated in the Ankara region of Turkey and yield mohair and Cashmere which yields cashmere fiber. Other common types of goats used for fiber are Cashgora (a cross of cashmere and angora) and Pashmina which is a breed of goat from high in the Himalayas of Nepal, Pakistan and Northern India from which a very fine fiber is harvested.

Rabbits:
Angora rabbits which been breed by humans for centuries are also from the Ankara region of Turkey and yield angora.
 
Camelids:
Camel
Llama
Alpaca (they come in two types)
     -huacaya (regular type of alpaca)
     -suri (these have long, silky coats that look a bit like dreadlocks)
Vicuna (likely wild ancestor of alpacas)
Guanaco (wild ancestor of llamas)

Various other animals:
Yak
Bison
Muskox - this is where Qiviut comes from
Brush tail possum
Mink
Cats
Dogs

Please let me know if I've missed an animal!  Fiber enthusiasts can be a creative lot, spinners in particular. I've known spinners to try to spin just about anything, including dryer lint!

Next week I'll spotlight one of these fibers.

Now to change gears a bit. It looks like we have quite a few people joining me to knit The Great American Aran Afghan! Anyone is welcome to join in, even if you've already started the afghan and just want a little company during your project. You can work at your own pace and knit as many or as few of the squares as you like. Beginners, don't be bashful, this is a great way to expand your skill without a big commitment.  Try the easier squares first, then try one that pushes you a little, you'll be surprised how much you improve.  Each square is knit one stitch at a time, one row at a time just like any other project.  Everything is composed of knits, purls, yarn overs, knitting 2 together, SSK, and some Make 1s, along with changing the order in which you knit stitches.  There is plenty of help if you join our Ravelry group thread. You can also come into the shop or email me your questions.

So far I've started with the square on page 22 of the book and I'll choose another square soon for September's choices.  So far, I've only had time to work a couple of inches of mine but the resulting fabirc is so soft and squooshy!  I'm using the new Cascade Longwood, in case you were wondering. :)

So come join us and we'll make this beautiful afghan together!


One little tidbit of good news if you're visiting us in Reno, the city has put up a new street sign at the intersection of McCarran and Capital Blvd!!!  This should make it easier to find the street where we are located. We love to meet our out-of-town customers and look forward to showing you around on your next visit!


Have fun, don't stress and enjoy!  I'm here to help as are many of our fellow knitters on Ravelry!

Please send your questions to askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com.

Happy knitting!
Terry

 Last week, I briefly mentioned that Lorna's Laces is running a contest.  To fill you in more on this fantastic opportunity to win free yarn I thought I would tell you a bit more.  First off, let me congratulate Lorna's Laces for having a gorgeous sweater designed by Deborah Newton and knit up in their new Haymarket yarn make to the cover of the new Fall 2013 Vogue Knitting!!!


Isn't it just stunning!!!

This colorway is 51n Island Blue and that magnificent interlaced cable up the front is applied.  So all kinds of new fun with this project! Also, we just ordered the Island Blue color (it should be here shortly) AND we've created a kit for this sweater as well so you can get started right away!!!

There are two chances to win so here's the specifics in their own words right from the Lorna's Laces blog:

"I'll give the  first person who sends me a photo of their finished Applied Cable Fisherman's Rib Top  (that's a mouthful) up to a sweater's worth of yarn for their next project. And the first person who comes up to me at Rhinebeck wearing one will get the same." 

So get those needles moving!  Rhinebeck (aka New York State Sheep & Wool Festival and it's held in Rhinebeck NY, but most attendees just call it Rhinebeck) is only 2 months from now!!!

Speaking of Haymarket, this gives me a great opportunity to start talking about some of the wool fibers commonly found in yarn shops!  What is Haymarket?  It is the latest yarn base from Lorna's Laces.  It is a single spun strand of 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool, 215 yd/100g, dyed up in the wonderful Lorna's colorways!  Now, this one is NOT superwash so handwash and lay flat to dry or dry clean.

You've probably started to see a number of yarns that are made from Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) and are wondering what a Bluefaced Leicester is!  Well it is a breed of sheep, originally from Northumberland County, England.  This is in the far north, on the Scottish border.  It is a large, handsome sheep with no wool on it's face and neck and a very roman nose.  The skin under the short hairs of the face is blue, this is where the blue faced part comes in.  It is a multipurpose breed in what growers call the Longwool breed category.  Multipurpose means it is an animal used for food, fiber, and for it's crossbreeding suitability to maintain hybrid vigor in the offspring.

The fleece of the Bluefaced Leicester has a staple length of 3- 6” (staple length means the length of the wool), a fleece weight of 3 to 6 lbs., and a fiber diameter of 56s – 60s count, or 24-28 microns, creating high quality lustrous yarns with beautiful drape. (I'll go into spinning counts and microns in a future post.)  Suffice it say at this point that this wool is not quite as fine and soft as merino wool but still soft enough for sweaters, hats and scarves.  It will also be slightly more resistant to felting than merino wool but should still felt beautifully. The fiber also take dye very well giving some very vibrant tones. As a spinning fiber it is an excellent choice for a beginner.  If you want to find out more about this breed of sheep you can go to the Bluefaced Leicesters Breeder Association for more details.


Haymarket would be another excellent yarn to use for your Great American Aran Afghan too! Don't forget, we're starting our first square next week and everyone online or local is welcome to join!  Feel free to begin posting in the Ravelry thread for this KAL too. 

Here is the info for the first square again: we will start with the square on page 22 of the book, designed by Carol Adams.

Supplies need will be:

-The Great American Aran Afghan book
-1 hank of worsted weight yarn
-Size US 6 (4mm) straight or 24" circular needle
-Cable needle
-stitch markers are helpful but not required


Gauge for all squares will average 19 st to 4" (10 cm) over stockinette on size US 7 (4.5 mm) needles.

When the owners of Cascade yarns were visiting us last week we realized that Cascade Cloud would also be an awesome choice for this project.  These chain construction of this wool & alpaca yarn will give fantastic stitch definition!  I've decided I'll do mine from the new Cascade Longwood!

Sunday, August 25th will be the first class in the local shop but I'm available by email whenever you need help or get stuck.  Just send an email to askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com.

It's cable mania time!!! ;D
Terry

 

Have you ever wanted to learn to knit how to knit cables, bobbles, twists and knots?  Intimidated to knit a whole afghan? Feeling left out of chances to win a whole sweaters worth of Lorna's Laces yarn by being the first to send Lorna's a photo of your finished applied cable sweater from the cover of the new Fall Vogue Knitting?  I have just the solution for you!  The Great American Aran Afghan Knit-a-long!  This is the perfect project for learning Aran stitches with out committing to large, complicated sweater patterns. Knit all the patterns or just the ones you like!

We will be using the The Great American Aran Afghan book which includes instructions for 24 uniquely designed 12" squares, 20 squares are used for the afghan and 4 are used to make two throw pillows. The plan is to start two squares each month over the next year but of course you are welcome to work at your own pace. Squares will be chosen so that the simpler patterns are done first to build skills and then we'll move on to the more difficult squares. To help those who are learning, we will be offering 2 classes each month in our retail shop to get each square started or for help with problems.  The first class is scheduled for Sunday August 24th from 1:30 - 3:30. Then keep a watch on our classes page for future class dates.

If there is interest we can plan some group knitting times in our shop as well.

One of the best things about working a project like this is that you don't have to buy all the yarn at once!  Each square will utilize about 200 yds of worsted weight yarn so you can purchase 1 or 2 hanks/skeins at a time.  Traditionally, Aran garments are made from unbleached white wool but you may choose any colors or fibers you like.  Dark colors are not recommended as it's too hard to see the cable patterns.  The yarn called for in the book is Plymouth Encore which is a good, budget friendly, gently machine washable 75% acrylic, 25% wool yarn.  I'm going to be recommending Cascade 220, Cascade 220 Superwash and Cascade Longwood for those who want 100% wools.  Other great yarns that could be used are Universal Deluxe Worsted & Deluxe Worsted Superwash, Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash.

The first square we will do is the one on page 22 of the book, designed by Carol Adams. 

Supplies need will be:

The Great American Aran Afghan book
1 hank of worsted weight yarn
Size US 6 (4mm) straight or 24" circular needle
Cable needle
stitch markers are helpful but not required

The book has instruction in both written format and charts so this will also be a great way to learn to read charts!

I hope you'll join us!

(I'm just back from a lovely vacation so next week I'll return to my ongoing discussing on protein fibers)

Terry