Showing posts with label Knit Red KAL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knit Red KAL. Show all posts

Have you ever had ... ?

by : Unknown
 

I am seriously questioning my sanity!  Since last fall I have been in none stop knitting... ok, not completely knitting, more like starting mode. Yes, I've had a bad case of startitus!  I think it all began with the Knit Red A-line hoodie KAL. Then it was holiday gifts, Downton Abby KAL, Truckee Shawlette KAL, some fun designing, working on customer repairs, knitting a dress from my granddaughter for her birthday, teaching top down sweaters, top down shawls, felted hats and beginning socks classes!

It's been a slippery, wooly slope, with few finished projects to show for all my industrious knitting.  Now, after a 48 hour marathon last weekend to finish that design I mentioned, I think I can say with my tired, aching hands, that I am experiencing a knitting hangover!


My hands would be very happy if I didn't pick up knitting needles at all this week but my mind is still racing with projects I would like to start. But NO!  I have decided to be firm and not allow myself to start anything new until I finish at least a couple of the WIPs that are piled around me in my squirrels nest of knitting at home. How bad is it? How many of you carry 4-5 projects around in your knitting bag every day, just in case you have time to work on something?

I have told my awesome co-workers and my SO at home that if they catch me starting anything new, before I finish something, that they are to initiate an intervention STAT!!!

Yes, even we Beans get burned out either physically or mentally from time to time.  It is definitely time for me to step back and take a break to recharge and rest.  Stretch the hands and arms, get some exercise and get out and enjoy the spring that is starting to bloom here in Reno.

Not to fear, after a little R & R I'll be good as new and ready to finish those outstanding projects and move on to some new and exciting projects for spring and summer!  Have you seen all the new yarns we've been getting!  I'm so excited to get some summer tops and shells knit!

Some of our KAL participants are finishing up their projects too.  (Hmmm, perhaps we should do a WIP KAL....!)  Diane, one of our Truckee Shawlette KAL participant has finished her shawl.  I love the colors she chose!  She used Rainwater & Parchment in MadelineTosh Merino Light and switched out the increases for kf&b instead of the M1R & M1L.
 

Check out more finished Truckee Shawlettes in our Ravelry group thread.

For those of you who have been waiting for the video on how to work the 3-Needle Crochet-Style Bind Off for Hexipuffs, it is now up on our instructional page. Please check it out!

If you are local or will be visiting Reno please check our class schedule.  The April schedule will be out soon.  We have some exciting new classes we're offering - Crochet Beaded Wire Necklaces, Crochet Felted Bags, How to weave on your Rigid Heddle Loom, learn how to choose the right yarn for you project, knit a fun skirt or learn to knit or crochet!

I think that's it for this week!  Please join us on Ravelry for the Game of Thrones MKAL!

Happy Knitting!
Terry


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Knit Red A-Line Hoodie KAL – Week 5

by : MarinadeDesigns
Swatches!

Just a quick update this week! One week to go and we have another nearly finished hoodie! Sara who has just returned to work part-time at JBW (YEAH!), has been gracious enough to allow me to photograph her progress as she's participated in the KAL.


For those of you who follow us on Facebook you may remember this photo of Sara's and my swatches.


Raglan Increase
Sara chose to use MadelineTosh Vintage in the Badlands colorway. She alternated 3 hanks throughout the body because they didn't match as well as she would have liked.


Almost finished body!
Here's her sweater with the body nearly completed. This was her second try. She didn't like the way the colors were coming out with her first try at alternating the 3 hanks. So she opted to stagger the spots where she changed from one ball to the next which really made a big difference and really helped mix the colors well.


This is how a top down sweater's raglan line should look, with that nice elongated stitch right down the center!


Back view
The back view also clearly shows those great raglan lines.


Right side
Sara opted to do a 3 needle bind off for the top of her hood. The photo to the right shows how it looks on the right side.


And this photo shows how nice and tidy this bind off is on the inside of the hood.

Inside view of the bind off.
This is a great join that is very sturdy and helps yarns with a lot of drape maintain structure. You can read how to do it on our instructional page.


All finished!
And here she is! Modeling it for us! As you can see she made some modifications. Instead of increasing for the A-Line shape she did waist decreases and then increased again for the hips. She also added buttonholes all the way down the front and made the sleeves only 3/4s.  


Here's how she did the waist shaping:

“Waist Shaping
• decreased four sts every 23 rows, 3 times (12 sts decreased)
• after last decrease round work even for 13 rows
• after working even for 7 rows, increase four sts every 7 rows, five times. (20 sts increased)”

She still hasn't decided on buttons so we fastened it with a shawl pin. We'll have to wait and see what buttons she chooses but based on her past choices I know they will be fabulous!!!


There are a few more sweaters I've seen that are coming along beautifully.


Diane and I will be filming a couple more videos. We experienced some technical issues that have delayed them but we'll get them up for you as soon as we can.


Happy Knitting!
Terry 



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Knit Red A-Line Hoodie KAL -Week 3

by : MarinadeDesigns
First off, if you are still on the fence about the KAL, it's not too late to join us!  Feel free to start anytime.

To catch up those of you who are hearing about this KAL for the first time. It started August 6th and is going officially until September 17th although I imagine people will be finishing up for a while afterwards.   We're working on The A-line Hoodie pattern by Diane Soucy and it can be found on page 22 of Knit Red by Laura Zander. The pattern calls for Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street Collection, Cashmere Fleur de Lys in color #416. But you may use any yarn you like that you can get gauge with and it doesn't have to be red!

Diane Soucy (from Knitting Pure and Simple) and I have filmed more videos for you.  We decided to redo the How to Cast On for a Top Down Sweater video to make it shorter and more concise. Feel free to check it out on our Instruction page if you are just getting ready to cast on.

This week, we created a few new videos to help you with additional steps in top-down sweater knitting. This video shows you how to create buttonholes and divide for the sleeves on a top down sweater.  As a bonus, it also shows you where to measure from to start your waist shaping.



This second video shows you how to pickup stitches for the neckband on a top down sweater.  The same technique applies for hoods as well.  We also talk about why you want to pickup around the neckline before you make your sleeves.  I loved this part because I have always wondered why Diane instructs us to always work the necks before the sleeves.  Now I know why and feel a little silly that I hadn't thought of it myself!  It makes so much sense and I'm so glad I learned it.  Watch the video to find out too!



If you wish to watch them all  please go to our instruction page.  I've been adding text to all the existing videos and we're are always adding more each month!

And finally I a couple of A-Line Hoodie progress photos to share with you all!

Tylette's A-line
Tylette totally rocked this KAL! She's already done! She knit her A-line in Plymouth Encore in color #174. I just love the gorgeous deep red color and just know she's going to get a ton of use out of this hand knit!

Sara's A-line
One of our local customers (and soon to be employee) Sara is cruising right along too! She's alternating three hanks of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Badlands colorway and they don't quite match each other as well as she would like.  She was nearly done but didn't like the way the color was working out so... she frogged back and started again.  Here is her second try which she is much happier with. She has decided to not make it an a-line sweater and instead is decreasing for the waist, increasing again for the hips and she's putting buttons all the way down the front.

I would love to share photos of your projects.  Please feel free to email your photos to me and I'll share them here on the blog or on Facebook.

Remember, I am here to help you each step of the way. You can post your comments and questions in the ravelry groups, Jimmy Beans Wool and Stitch Red. or email me at askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool.com.

Happy Knitting!

Terry


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Knit Red A-Line Hoodie KAL- Post #2

by : MarinadeDesigns
So we're off and running on our first official Knit Red Knit-A-Long! (It's not too late to join us!)

I'll be blogging about the KAL each week right here on the JBW blog and the Stitch Red blog as well as having on-going discussions, camaraderie, and support in threads on both Ravelry groups, Jimmy Beans Wool and Stitch Red.

From August 6th to September 17th  we're working on The A-line Hoodie pattern by Diane Soucy and it can be found on page 22 of Knit Red by Laura Zander. The pattern calls for Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street Collection, Cashmere Fleur de Lys in color #416.  But you may use any yarn you like that you can get gauge with and it doesn't have to be red!

As I mentioned last week I'm making mine with Berroco Vintage in #5150 Berries.  I'm nearly to the end of my first hank and to the second buttonhole so far.  I've been knitting quite a bit lately with fingering weight yarn and so this project just seems to be flying along in worsted weight.


Making some progress!

And as promised, Diane Soucy and I have started filming some videos to help you make top down sweaters!  We're very excited be able to do this for you and these videos will be available to view anytime on our website, YouTube and in the future you'll also be able to link to them from Diane's website Knitting Pure and Simple.








Here are the first three with more to come in the coming weeks!

First, Diane and I show you how to How to Decide What Size Sweater to Make:





Then we talk about how important swatching and gauge is to getting the results you want. How to Measure Your Gauge Correctly:




Now that you know what size to make and have gotten gauge we show you how to cast on for a raglan top down sweater and explain what all those stitch markers are for, where they go, the parts of the sweater, increases used and finally how to cast on at the beginning and end of rows to work a seed stitch button band. How to Cast on for a Top Down Sweater:




And because this is a Knit Red KAL in support of heart health chime in with your heart healthy tips here in the comments or in our Ravelry groups.  I will be reading all of them!

So there you go!  Now you're all set to cast on!

And remember, I am here to help you each step of the way.  You can post your comments and questions in the Ravelry groups, Jimmy Beans Wool and Stitch Red. or email me at: askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool.com.

Happy Knitting!

Terry

PS. Are you on Facebook? So are we! C'mon over and "Like" us to get all of the latest news! www.facebook.com/jimmybeanswool

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Nelkin Giveaway Winner and a new Video!

by : MarinadeDesigns
Hi everyone!

This week has been super hectic getting ready for Stitches Midwest and writing content for the next newsletter! So busy in fact that I just have time to pop in and announce the giveaway winners from last week and share one of our newest Instructional Videos with you!!

Thanks to Random.org, the winner of the Nelkin Mudra Cuff giveaway is commenter #12, Beth who said:

"I knit Laura Nelkins beaded diamond cuff bracelet, and loved it- both the process and the result!"

Congrats to Beth and thanks to everyone who read and commented on the blog last week! It was so much fun featuring Laura's beaded designs! Beth, please e-mail me directly with your shipping information at: kristen(at)jimmybeanswool.com to claim your prize!

I'll leave you today with a new Instructional Video that Jeanne just filmed that shows you how to adjust your needle sizes to get gauge! For all of you knitter's out there who struggle with gauge, hopefully you'll find this helpful!



Lastly, be sure to check back here on Friday as Terry officially kicks of the Knit Red KAL with a helpful video featuring her and Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure and Simple!

Hope you all are having a great week and happy knitting!
Kristen
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Ready, get set, GO! It's time for another Knit-A-Long!

by : MarinadeDesigns
This time it's a Knit Red KAL! We will be knitting Diane Soucy's Knitting Pure & Simple pattern from the Knit Red book, the A-Line Hoodie. We chose this pattern not only because it is one of our favorite patterns from the book (although I think they are all favorites!) it also has the highest number of favorites on Ravelry of any of the Knit Red patterns!

We’ve been receiving such positive feedback on using Diane’s pattern and are so excited that everyone loves the A-Line Hoodie as much as we do! Many of you may not know this, but Diane is one of the people who helped inspire Laura to start Jimmy Beans Wool; which, we’re sure you read about in our Hand Dyed catalog. She's actually been with us since the beginning and her Knitting Pure and Simple Patterns are always our go-to knitting patterns for simple, top down designs. It's such a natural fit for her to be included in this next KAL! 


What’s even more exciting is that Diane is going to be participating in this KAL right along with us by filming some videos with me (Terry) that will take you through the steps of how to knit a top down sweater! We'll learn things like how to decide what size to make, the importance of gauge and how to find it, how to cast on and what are all those markers for? And the big one I know you all want to know because it was a much discussed issue in our last KAL, how to pickup stitches for the underarms without holes!

The KAL will start on Monday August 6th and run for 6 weeks until Monday September 17th.

We'll be blogging each week right here on the JBW blog and the Stitch Red blog as well as having on-going discussion, camaraderie, and support in threads on both Ravelry groups, Jimmy Beans Wool and Stitch Red.

For our local customers, I'm willing to hold KAL Knit Nights on Tuesday evenings every other week if enough interested people respond to this blog post by Sunday August 5th .

Diane's
"A-line Hoodie"
The A-line Hoodie pattern can be found on page 22 of Knit Red by Laura Zander

The Cashmere Fleur de Lys is an absolutely lovely and soft yarn and as always you are welcome to use any worsted weight yarn that you want. If you have questions on if a yarn is worsted weight check the yarn band for the suggested gauge. A suggested gauge of 18 - 20 stitches to 4” (4.5-5 stitches per inch) on a US 7-8 needle will work for this pattern.

Personally, I'm going to be sticking with the Stitch Red color theme and making my sweater out of Berroco Vintage in their Stitch Red color #5150 Berries. I'm choosing this yarn because I'm not always as gentle with my hand knits as I should be and I want this sweater to be an everyday sweater that is durable and easy to care for. In addition, I don't look my best in the blue-reds so I need to stick with orange-reds or reds with a hint of black and the Berroco Vintage fits the bill for me in every way.

I would also like to suggest a few other Stitch Red colors you can consider (if you’d like to join me in supporting Stitch Red):


My swatch! So excited to start!
I've already swatched for my sweater with the Berroco Vintage on US 8 and 9 Knitter's Pride Cubics and after washing my swatch I got gauge perfectly on US size 8.

So choose your yarn and get swatching--we hope you'll join us for what is sure to be a fun and educational KAL!

Happy knitting!
Terry

P.S. We are also planning some Heart Healthy goal-setting throughout and will be incorporating that into this KAL! We'd love for you to join us in encouraging each other to set some new goals and work towards them while we knit! Be sure to check in on the Ravelry groups for more info!

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